“Time is brain”: Upper Austria improves stroke care

Stroke is the most common acute neurological illness and affects around 4,500 Upper Austrians every year. After cardiovascular diseases and cancer, it is the third most common cause of death – and the main reason for permanent physical impairments.

When it comes to stroke treatment, every minute counts. In Upper Austria’s hospitals there are seven specialized units called the “Stroke Unit”. In these centers, those affected receive care as quickly as possible. In order to avoid serious consequential damage, examinations and therapy are started immediately after arrival at the hospital. The blood clots that form in the brain during a stroke are dissolved with the administration of a medication called thrombolysis.

Alarm plans for the hospitals

However, one in ten patients in Upper Austria is admitted to a hospital without a stroke unit and therefore has worse chances. “The establishment of a ‘stroke network’ is intended to improve the good quality of stroke care in our state,” explained Deputy Governor Christine Haberlander (VP) yesterday at a press conference. Not only are all hospital operators – Health Holding OÖ and religious hospitals – involved in this network, but also the emergency services, which are on hand when 144 is dialed in the event of a stroke, and thus make a major contribution to acute care. The aim of the network is to provide coordinated care from the initial call to rehabilitation.

Three future innovations

The country’s hospitals want to set up so-called “stroke boards” in which treating doctors from all disciplines are networked and advise on the various cases.

There should also be separate “alarm plans” to improve the long-term prognosis of stroke patients. This alarm plan works similarly to the heart alarm – everyone involved in the hospital is informed by telephone call in the event of an emergency.

The aim is to improve the rehabilitation processes, which must also take place quickly for stroke patients. “This starts in the hospital,” says Raimund Helbok, head of the University Clinic for Neurology at Kepler University Hospital. After their hospital stay, patients go to an inpatient rehabilitation facility or to further outpatient care.

A network for life

“All of the new network’s efforts serve to ensure that those affected and their environment are re-integrated into everyday life in the best possible way,” explained Christine Haberlander. The top priority would be to maintain independence, mobility and social and professional participation, said the State Health Councilor. (bar)

If you have any symptoms, call 144 immediately

Two percent of men and one percent of women between the ages of 45 and 54 in Austria are affected by a stroke.
There are already six percent of the population aged 65 to 74 and more than ten percent of the population over 75 years old.
Symptoms: one-sided paralysis, one-sided numbness or a hanging corner of the mouth, sudden visual disturbances up to short-term blindness,
sudden speech disorders, sudden onset of dizziness. If any of these symptoms occur, you should immediately
Emergency number 144 can be dialed.