Summer 2011
The Emergency Room doors whoosh open, welcoming a middle-aged couple. One side of the man’s face droops and his slurred words try to quiet his wife’s worst fears. The triage nurse, trained to recognize these symptoms, alerts the team that a possible stroke victim needs diagnosis and immediate attention.
“When stroke happens, time is brain tissue,” says Dr. Mounang Desai, co-medical director of the emergency room at North Cypress Medical Center (NCMC). Stroke is the third-leading cause of death and foremost cause of disability. When a “brain attack” occurs, brain cells are deprived of blood, which carries oxygen and nutrients, so it begins to die. Reacting quickly is vital. Continue reading “Surviving Stroke”