New Treatment For Stroke Victims

Approximately 800,000 americans suffer a stroke annually. Of those 800,000 stroke victims, 130,000 will die, and a large percentage will never regain their pre-stroke quality of life. To that end, strokes are also the leading cause of long-term disability. Strokes do not just affect the elderly, as approximately 34 percent of stroke victims are under age 65.

If diagnosed timely, the effects of a Stroke can be minimized with the administration of a drug known as tPA(“Tissue Plasminogen Activator.”).

tPA is an enzyme found naturally in the body that converts, or activates, plasminogen into another enzyme to dissolve a blood clot. It may also be used in an IV by doctors to speed up the dissolving of a clot. However, tPA must be given within three hours of the onset of symptoms. Unfortunately, doctors and nurses sometimes fail to recognize the signs and symptoms of a Stroke and many patients never receive tPA. I have represented many patients that were not properly diagnosed and missed the tPA window. These unfortunate victims of Stroke Malpractice were left with a permanent brain injury. However, now there is hope. Doctors at Tel Aviv University found that hyperbaric oxygen therapy resulted in neurological activity in what were “useless” areas created by the stroke.

Unlike tPA which helps to dissolve a clot before permanent damage is done to the brain, hyperbaric oxygen therapy helps to reverse the effects of a stroke.