FOR RELEASE: 4 p.m. ET, Monday Oct. 13, 1997
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NR 97-4596 (Stroke/Indredavik) American Heart Association journal report:
Stroke patients treated in hospital "stroke units" have better chance at long-term survival
DALLAS, Oct. 14 -- For the first time, researchers say they have proof that people who have suffered a stroke have a better chance of long-term survival if they are treated in a hospital "stroke unit." In a report in today's Stroke, a journal of the American Heart Association, Norwegian researchers said that a "stroke unit" system saves lives and increases the number of patients able to live at home five years after the stroke. In this instance, a hospital "stroke unit" is comprised of dedicated beds for stroke patients and a specialized team trained for diagnosis, systematic observation, acute medical treatment and acute rehabilitation of stroke patients. This type of "stroke unit" is more prevalent in Europe than in the United States. The main reason is that in Europe, government-sponsored healthcare systems put more emphasis on total recovery resulting in longer hospital stays. No evidence exists that these types of "stroke units" are "better" than those in the United States, but there is a distinct difference in their structure. Bent Indredavik, M.D., lead author of the study and head of the Stroke Unit at University Hospital of Trondheim, Norway, says that "stroke units," which treat patients from the time they arrive at the hospital through rehabilitation, have proved to be successful in helping stroke patients lead longer, more productive lives. "We've previously shown that treatment in stroke units improves outcome during the first year after onset of stroke compared with stroke patients treated in general wards," says Indredavik. "This new research shows that stroke unit treatment works over an even longer span of time, but we need to do more research as to the reasons why it is successful."
In a randomized controlled trial, 110 patients with symptoms and signs of an acute stroke were assigned to the "stroke unit" and 110 to general wards. The outcome after five years was measured by the proportion of patients at home, the proportion of patients in an institution and the number of patients able to function independently in the years following a stroke. After five years, 34.5 percent of the patients in the "stroke unit" were at home compared to 18.2 percent of patients treated in general wards. Those treated in the "stroke units" had regained the ability to function independently. The study also found patients treated in "stroke units" lived longer. In the study, 59.1 percent of patients in the "stroke unit" died within five years compared to 70.9 percent of those in general wards. Stroke killed 154,350 people in the United States in 1994, the latest year that statistics are available. Approximately 500,000 Americans each year suffer a new or recurrent "brain attack." Stroke is the leading cause of serious, long-term disability in the United States and it accounts for half of all patients hospitalized for acute neurological disease.
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Media advisory: Dr. Indredavik can be reached at 47 73 998855. (Please do not publish telephone numbers.)
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