Stroke Care

Piedmont Medical Center is a Joint Commission Accredited Primary Stroke Center with American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Get with the Guidelines-Stroke® Gold Plus and Target Stroke Achievement Award.

Time is critical in the treatment of stroke. With early intervention, our stroke team can help patients maintain their quality of your life after a stroke, but many facets of treatment depend upon how quickly stroke is identified.

Rapid stroke diagnosis and treatment are significant components of Piedmont Medical Center’s Stroke Program. Our team has integrated many industry best practices, including:

• Pre-Hospital Stroke Alert: When a patient suspected of having a stroke is being brought to our hospital, our EMS team is trained to initiate a stroke alert from the field, which allows patients to bypass triage and go directly to imaging, saving valuable time.
• Advanced diagnostics available at PMC includes computed tomography (CT scan), CT perfusion, CT angiography, MRI and cerebral angiography.
• RapidAI™: FDA Approved imaging AI software is utilized to assist physicians in making faster and more accurate diagnostic and treatment decisions for stroke patients.
• A dedicate care team which includes specialists in Emergency Medicine, Neurocritical Care, Neurology, Neuroendovascular and Neurosurgery.

Advanced Clot-Busting Techniques:

If your stroke is ischemic (blockage type), you may benefit from:

• tPA (tissue plasminogen activator) – Uses a medicine administered through an intravenous (IV) line to dissolve clots; it must be given soon after stroke symptoms begin and can significantly reduce the effects of stroke.
• Clot retrieval device (endovascular revascularization) – Guides a thin, flexible tube, called a catheter, through your blood vessels to directly access, remove clot and restore blood flow.

Time is a key factor in preventing further damage to the brain and in reversing the damage already done during a stroke. For this reason, people experiencing a stroke should get to an emergency room as quickly as possible. Know and remember the common signs of stroke. If you see them, then it’s time to act F.A.S.T!