Vascular Neurology (Stroke)

Every year, more than 795,000 people in the United States have a stroke; nearly one-fourth of those are repeat cases. Stroke is the #1 cause of disability in adults and costs the United States an estimated $34 billion each year, including the cost of healthcare services, medications and missed days of work.

The death rate for stroke is highest in the southeastern United States — but not at Ochsner Medical Center, where patients survive at rates that exceed even the national expected norms.

The Ochsner Neuroscience Institute’s Comprehensive Stroke Center has become a destination center for stroke and neuroscience patients throughout the Gulf South region. At Ochsner, stroke care begins with treating the life-threatening condition quickly in order to ensure all patients who qualify receive state-of-the-art intervention.  Through our Telestroke System, we provide rapid treatment of stroke through connecting physicians via telemedicine so that they are virtually “at the bedside” within minutes in over 30 emergency departments in the Gulf South.  While hospitalized, patients will benefit from our multidisciplinary approach which encompasses inpatient and outpatient physical, occupational and speech rehabilitation and includes an innovative at home follow-up education program that decreases the rates of stroke recurrence and readmission.