Patients Lives Being Saved By Cutting-Edge Treatment For Severe Stroke At NYC Health + Hospitals/Kings County

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NYC Health + Hospitals/Kings County’s award-winning Stroke Center has added a cutting-edge, minimally invasive surgical technique to treat acute ischemic stroke, and the first patient to undergo the procedure—mechanical thrombectomy—has been successfully treated.

Mechanical thrombectomy is an option for the treatment of acute ischemic stroke, a type of stroke that occurs when a blood vessel carrying blood to the brain is blocked by a blood clot. The treatment involves the insertion of a catheter through the patient’s groin and threading it into the artery where the blood clot is located. A device called a “stent retriever” is then inserted to trap the clot and pull it out through the catheter.

“For the most severe cases of ischemic stroke, the mechanical thrombectomy has an 80 percent chance of success, whereas the use of blood-thinning medicine by itself has a 40 percent chance of success,” said Donnie Bell, MD, Director of Neuro-Intervention at NYC Health + Hospitals/Kings County, who performed the hospital’s first procedure. “This technique was recently designated an effective treatment of choice for certain cases.” He adds that current guidelines indicate the procedure is most effective when administered early, preferably within the first six hours.

“The doctors here gave me my life back,” said Kelvin Bryant, a Brooklynite who was the hospital’s first patient to undergo the life-saving procedure. “When I came in, I had no power. Today, I can walk, and I won’t take anything for granted.”

“NYC Health + Hospitals/Kings County cares for some 500 patients experiencing acute stroke each year, and we are committed to providing the best care to everyone who comes through our doors,” said Ernest J. Baptiste, CEO of NYC Health + Hospitals/Kings County. “Our doctors are some of the best in the country, and our community benefits.”

The Stroke Center at NYC Health + Hospitals/Kings County is widely recognized for its high-quality care, having received awards from the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association for the past six years. The Stroke Center offers a comprehensive program that includes both inpatient and outpatient services. The inpatient program integrates radiology and neuroscience, among other services, to provide acute stroke neuroimaging (CT scan and MRI), IV thrombolysis, acute stroke nursing, neurosurgery, and a 24/7 stroke team. The outpatient program includes a stroke clinic, neuropsychological assessments, nutrition and diabetes education, home health aide/nursing care, and transportation arrangements for those in need.

“Our care is a team approach, reflecting close collaboration among the departments of quality improvement, nursing, emergency medicine, critical care, neurosurgery, and neuroradiology, and this collaboration is a key to our success” said Susan Law, MD, Director of the NYC Health + Hospitals/Kings County Stroke Center. “While we continue to expand our treatment options, we always want to remind people who experience warning signs of possible stroke to get to the emergency room as soon as possible.”
Stroke is the fifth-leading cause of death in the United States, as well as a leading cause of disability. Risk factors for stroke include high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease, high cholesterol, smoking, poor diet, and lack of physical activity.

Dedicated to the improvement of care, NYC Health + Hospitals/Kings County is also engaged in research to develop breakthroughs in the treatment of stroke. It is partnering with NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital to pilot a program that educates adolescents about stroke and its signs and symptoms. And it is collaborating with SUNY Downstate Medical Center and NYU Langone Medical Center on research projects.

Contact: Leticia Theodore-Greene
718-245-3910

About NYC Health + Hospitals
NYC Health + Hospitals is the largest public health care system in the nation serving more than a million New Yorkers annually in more than 70 patient care locations across the city’s five boroughs. A robust network of outpatient, neighborhood-based primary and specialty care centers anchors care coordination with the system’s trauma centers, nursing homes, post-acute care centers, home care agency, and MetroPlus health plan—all supported by 11 essential hospitals. Its diverse workforce of more than 42,000 employees is uniquely focused on empowering New Yorkers, without exception, to live the healthiest life possible. For more information, visit www.nychealthandhospitals.org.

About NYC Health + Hospitals/Kings County
NYC Health + Hospitals/Kings County is a 627-bed facility that serves the communities of Central Brooklyn, East New York-New Lots and Flatbush. A teaching hospital, it is part of the NYC Health + Hospitals health care system. The hospital is a Level I Trauma Center for Adults and the only Level 1 Pediatric Trauma Center in Brooklyn. It is a NYSDOH Designated AIDS Center; a Stroke Center; and has also been designated as a Center of Excellence for Diabetes and for Parkinson Disease. The hospital has played a major role in providing health care to vulnerable populations in Brooklyn since 1831. For more information visit www.nychealthandhospitals.org/KingsCounty.