Stroke
A stroke occurs when there’s a disturbance in the amount of blood delivered to part of the brain, resulting in injury to brain tissue. Most strokes are due to a blocked blood vessel, but rupture of a blood vessel can also cause a stroke. The severity of strokes can range from mild to life-threatening, but a stroke is always an emergency requiring rapid diagnosis and treatment. 
In the past, strokes often resulted in permanent brain damage and disability. Several new treatment options have changed that. Many people with strokes can now receive treatments that either eliminate or minimize the impairments. In order to be effective, these treatments must be administered urgently, often in less than three hours after the onset of symptoms. Sudden onset of symptoms may include:
- Numbness or weakness of the face, arm or leg, especially on one side of the body
- Confusion or trouble speaking or understanding
- Trouble seeing in one or both eyes
- Trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance or coordination
- Severe headache with no known cause
Albany Med Advantage
The Neurosciences Institute Stroke Team is lead by physicians with specialized fellowship training in the diagnosis and treatment of stroke. They offer a full array of treatment options ranging from injections of “clot busting” drugs to clot removal devices that are used to reopen blocked blood vessels. These intravenous clot busting drugs can only be used within 3 hours of the onset of symptoms. At Albany Medical Center, the stroke team has advanced procedures to treat stroke 6-8 hours after the onset of symptoms, however, all therapies require a stroke victim to get to the hospital right away.
The high standards and outcomes of the stroke team have resulted in special certification from the Joint Commission and from the New York State Department of Health, as well as honors and awards from the American Stroke Association.
Albany Medical Center works closely with other hospitals throughout upstate New York, western Massachusetts and Vermont to facilitate rapid transfer of patients to Albany Medical Center for expert evaluation and treatment of stroke.
