Timely Diagnosis and Response to Stroke Helps Dusty Baker

Timely diagnosis and rapid response by medical personnel is the key to a good outcome for Stroke victims. Dusty Baker, the Cincinnati Reds baseball manager can attest to same.

Thousands of people are the victims of Stroke Malpractice every year. Dusty Baker was not.

Baker began feeling ill last Wednesday and was was admitted to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago. Baker was diagnosed with atrial fibrillation, commonly known as an irregular heartbeat. Atrial fibrillation is one of the strongest risk factors for strokes, along with diabetes and hypertension. An erratic heartbeat can cause blood clots and that is why most patients with atrial fibrillation take some form of blood thinners.

As he was being discharged Friday, Baker suffered a mini-stroke and immediately was treated by the hospital’s stroke team, which minimized the effects of the stroke. There is no doubt that the hospital’s team administered tPA, which stands for “Tissue Plasminogen Activator,” and this led to the good outcome.

Not all victims are as fortunate as Baker. In fact, many strokes are not diagnosed timely. In order to receive tPA, a person must be diagnosed and cleared for tPA within 3 hours from the onset of symptoms. If administered within 3 hours than a person can hope for a full recovery.

Generally a stroke patient can start physical activity after a week or so, although they will face an increased risk of another stroke.

A stroke can affect vision, balance, mental activity, speech, strength or sensation. Recovery time depends on the part of the brain that was damaged and how quickly doctors intervened.