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Stroke

Stroke: Patient Education from University of Colorado Hospital

Rural hospitals may not have the ability to provide accurate diagnosis and treatment for stroke. It is always appropriate to request a transfer to a facility such as UCH capable of delivering higher level stroke services. Remember minutes matter when it comes to stroke treatment!

Life After a Stroke

Attention: Stroke Survivors and Caregivers

Join National Stroke Association and University of Colorado Hospital for two dynamic days of sharing, learning, and growing from your experience with stroke.

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Adjustments that need to be made after having a stroke will greatly depend on the amount of damage or “deficit” a patient is left with, which is dependent on whether or not they got treatment in time. Deficits will range from minor things such as numbness or tingling in a hand or weakness in an extremity when tired, to major deficits such as paralysis of one side of the body and the inability to speak or understand language.

After stroke, rehabilitation will play a large role in whether or not a person can return home to independent living or will require assistance. Rehabilitation may occur in an inpatient rehabilitation hospital immediately after stroke, continuing as an outpatient once a patient’s functional level improves enough to leave the hospital setting.

Other priorities after stroke include the prevention of future strokes and optimizing health by reducing risk factors, such as quitting smoking, decreasing cholesterol, increasing activity and adding exercise to your daily routine. Control of risk factors greatly reduces the risk of having another stroke and ending up with additional neurologic deficits or worsening of the deficits from the first stroke. Working with your doctor or nurse practitioner, you can develop a plan that will minimize your overall risk and help you to improve your health.

Stroke: Getting a Second Opinion

While not always possible during the acute phase of the stroke, a second opinion is always applicable if additional non-emergency treatments are needed or when making the transition to rehabilitation.