The Need For Speed

When stroke strikes, seconds count.

Shirley Kattner, then 65, woke at midnight in the summer of 2005 and discovered she couldn't feel her right leg and arm. She woke her husband of 48 years, Lionel, and he called 9-1-1. Minutes later, she was in an ambulance headed to Baylor University Medical Center at Dallas.

The team there stabilized her and moved her to the ICU, where she stayed for the better part of a week. "It was scary. I didn't know what the prognosis was going to be," Lionel says. "But the neurologist was very optimistic."

He had good reason to be. Thanks to an effective rehab program that included about a month at Baylor Institute for Rehabilitation, followed by day and outpatient programs, Kattner has almost completely recovered. In fact, she retired from her job as a Neiman Marcus bridal consultant after the stroke, but now she says she is having second thoughts about giving up the job she loved for 16 years.

Lionel's quick call to the paramedics likely helped Shirley survive and recover.

"The most important thing is that the patient and family have to act fast, and the paramedics have to act fast," says Mahmood Akhavi, M.D., a neurologist on the medical staff at Baylor Medical Center at Garland.

"Those experiencing a stroke need to get to an emergency room within three hours. The most important factor is time. Every minute that passes without treatment leads to the permanent loss of additional brain cells," says Lise Labiche, M.D., a neurologist who specializes in cerebrovascular disease on the medical staff at Baylor Dallas. "Doctors have a limited time during which to administer effective therapies to reverse the damage, including TPA and interventional procedures to remove the blood clot."

Types of Stroke
There are two major types of stroke: one where a blood clot travels to the brain from the heart or neck, and another where a blood vessel rupture in the brain causes bleeding.

With the first, called ischemic stroke, doctors can administer clot-busting drugs that will break up the clot and allow oxygen to once again reach the brain, preserving precious cells. But these drugs must be administered within the crucial first three hours after the stroke starts.

The second, called hemorrhagic stroke, was the type of stroke that struck Shirley Kattner. These strokes would become much worse with clot-busting drugs, so doctors need to run a CT scan first to determine what type of stroke is occurring. In Kattner's case, a prescription blood thinner she was taking was likely worsening her stroke, so doctors had to act fast to purge the drug from her system.

Prevention and Recovery
While a stroke can affect anyone, risk is higher for men and older people. There are lots of other factors within your control that can increase your risk, too, including high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol, smoking, excess body weight, excess alcohol consumption and lack of exercise.

Joseph D'Addesio, M.D., chief of the emergency department on the medical staff at Baylor Medical Center at Waxahachie, says, "Basically, prevention of a stroke is very similar to prevention of a heart attack." In fact, a stroke is often called "a brain attack" because of its similarities to a heart attack. That means the healthy lifestyle tips you always hear-exercise, lose weight, don't smoke, see your doctor for screenings-can help you steer clear of a stroke too.

Despite your prevention efforts, a stroke can hit anyone. So even if you suspect you're at low risk, take a tip from Lionel Kattner and call for help.

Even with Lionel's quick thinking, the rehab road was a long one for Shirley. "I had to retrain my brain. But I learned if it's in there, it comes back," she says. She still wears a brace on her right ankle but hopes to shed it soon, once she strengthens her muscles. Her right hand is almost completely back to normal.

"You'd be amazed at the human body and how it comes back. I'm back in my blue jeans baking, cooking and planting flowers-doing all that good stuff again," she says.

By Stephanie Thurrott