Baylor Dallas is home to a nationally accredited comprehensive stroke center. This designation recognizes the medical center for having the staff, expertise, programs and advanced tools necessary to provide rapid diagnosis and treatment of stroke to improve outcomes and reduce brain damage in stroke patients.
Types of Strokes
Advanced Care Always Available
Stroke – or "Brain Attack" – occurs when blood flow to part of the brain stops because of a blockage due to a clot (ischemic) or break (hemorrhage) in a vessel supplying the brain with blood.
Baylor Dallas has staff specially trained in diagnosing and treating stroke available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. They are capable of helping quickly restore blood flow to the brain using a number of possible treatments:
- Intravenous tissue plasminogen activator (IV tPA): Powerful clot-busting medication that is highly effective treating patients with ischemic stroke delivered through an IV.
- Intra-arterial thrombolysis: Clot-busting therapy delivered directly into the arteries through a catheter
- Clot retrieval device: A mechanical device that removes clots from within the vessel.
- Carotid stenting/angioplasty: Less invasive than surgery technique, angioplasty uses a tiny balloon to open blocked or narrowed arteries. Stents are small, metal mesh tubes that prop arteries open after angioplasty.
- Surgical procedures (including carotid endarterectomy, aneurysm clipping and AVM resection): Carotid endarterectomy is a surgical procedure to open blocked or narrowed vessels to prevent ischemic stroke. Aneurysm clipping and AVM resection are procedures that remove abnormal vessel formations to prevent hemorrhage.
- Endovascular coiling of aneurysms: A minimally invasive treatment for aneurysms that may be difficult to treat with brain surgery.
- Cerebrovascular bypass procedures: A procedure similar to heart bypass surgery, where a vein or artery is used as a graft to bypass a blocked vessel in the neck or brain.
- Ongoing clinical trials for potentially neuroprotective agents that may help prevent future strokes
- Evidence-based secondary stroke prevention regimens
Stroke Warning Signs
Signs and symptoms of stroke may appear suddenly without warning. If you or a loved one experiences any of these symptoms, call 911 FAST:
F - Face drooping
A - Arm weakness
S - Speech Difficulty
T - Time to call 911