Experts say more time to help stroke sufferers than first thought

Time is critical during any emergency, but especially during a stroke.

For years doctors have given patients a clot busting drug known as TPA if they arrived at the ER within three hours of first symptoms.

After that the treatment was considered too risky because it may cause bleeding in the brain.

But now Stanford researchers have discovered that treatment window can be expanded.

“What we know now is that even if a patient is treated three to four-and-a-half hours after symptoms, there is still benefit of treatment,“ said Dr. Maarten Lanberg, a Stanford neurology professor.

While treatment in the three to four-and-a-half hour window was not as successful as getting the clot busting drug sooner, it did improve the odds of a favorable outcome by 31% and did not increase a patient’s chance of dying.

Despite the new research it’s still critical patients quickly recognize symptoms.

Symptoms include slurred speech, droopy face and the inability to speak.

To help people suffering from stroke, Stanford has also established a new system to rapidly transfer patients from other hospitals so they can receive clot busting medications or a special procedure to retrieve blood clots.