by Winston Chua

ARCADIA - May is Stroke Awareness Month for Arcadia Methodist Hospital. As one of the San Gabriel Valley’s few stroke receiving centers, they are taking the opportunity this month to educate people about the realities of stroke and also let people know what options are available to those who may experience a stroke in the future.

Methodist officials at a press conference this past Friday told media outlets that it is important to get the word out that “Time is Brain,” meaning the longer one waits to receive treatment for a stroke, the greater the permanent brain damage can result.

A stroke is defined as an insufficient blood supply to the brain caused by a block or brain bleed, causing an affected area of the brain to lose function and affect a person’s ability to formulate speech, see or move limbs on both sides of his or her body. Men and women in their 60s, according to Methodist neurologist Kenneth Wogensen, are prime candidates for stroke, as are those who have high blood pressure, smoke, have high cholesterol or have atrial fibrillation (abnormal heart rhythm).

Many stroke patients who are treated at Methodist are given tissue plasminogen activators (tPA) to dissolve blood clots, administered usually through the arm of a stroke patient.

“We’ve either eliminated the deficit or made it much, much smaller (when we give tPAs), to the point where instead of being dead or in a nursing home, they’re back in their own homes with their families,” Wogensen said.

If you think someone may be having a stroke, Methodist urges you to act quickly and call 911 or get the person to the hospital as soon as possible, as brain cells are dying. Again, check to see if someone you suspect is having a stroke is suddenly having problems seeing, is dizzy, experiences weakness to one side of their body or has trouble communicating. And then get them to an appropriate hospital.

Methodist is one of about 80 stroke receiving hospitals in the County of Los Angeles participating in The Field Administration of Stroke Therapy – Magnesium Phase 3 Clinical Trial, otherwise known as Fast-MAG. The goal of the study is to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of field-initiated magnesium sulfate in improving the long-term functional outcome of patients with acute stroke. Half of the patients involved in the study will receive a placebo, the other consenters will be given magnesium.

May 15-21 is National Emergency Medical Services Week at Methodist Hospital as well, a time the hospital has set aside to honor paramedics, physicians, nurses, firefighters and police who dedicate themselves to assisting those in emergencies.

Other stroke receiving centers nearby include Huntington, Garfield and Pomona Valley hospitals.