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.
1 in 6
People will have a stroke in their lifetime.
Why Ochsner for Stroke Care?
The Ochsner Neuroscience Institute’s Comprehensive Stroke Center has become a destination center for stroke and neuroscience patients throughout the Gulf South region.
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.
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.
Award-winning quality
- Ranked by Healthgrades as one of America's 100 Best Hospitals for Stroke Care (TM) for seven years in a row (2012-2018)
- Recipient of the Healthgrades Stroke Care Excellence Award (TM)
- Named among the Top 5% in the nation for Treatment of a Stroke for eight years in a row (2011-2018) by Healthgrades
Conditions Treated
- Stroke:
- Ischemic stroke: damage caused when brain tissue is unable to receive oxygen and nutrients through the blood
- Hemorrhagic stroke: rupture of a weakened blood vessel
- Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH): bleeding within the brain tissue
- Subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH): bleeding into the subarachnoid space (the space between the skull and brain tissue)
- Stroke rehabilitation
- Stroke prevention
- Hemorrhagic stroke: rupture of a weakened blood vessel
- Ischemic stroke: damage caused when brain tissue is unable to receive oxygen and nutrients through the blood
- Transient ischemic attack (TIA)
- Arteriovenous malformations (AVM)
- Aneurysms
- Carotid artery disease
- Ruptured and unruptured cerebral aneurysms
- Cerebral vascular malformations
- Chronic cerebral ischemia
- Atherosclerosis
Stroke Quality Metrics
Every stroke patient that arrives at Ochsner Medical Center in New Orleans, Louisiana, at the Jefferson Highway campus is expected to receive optimal medical treatment. We take pride in the excellent care we provide to our patients, some of whom require complex therapies.
Research Conducted at Ochsner
- Ochsner is one of 26 organizations receiving a Health Care Innovation Award. Utilizing the Innovation Award, Ochsner will focus on better serving almost 1000 acute stroke patients in Jefferson and St. Tammany parishes by employing two telemedicine enabled concepts called “Stroke Central” and “Stroke Mobile.” These systems will enable care providers to monitor patients, evaluate outcomes, and check on medication and treatment adherence on a real-time basis both in the hospital and in the home. The program will continue to monitor patients over a 12 month period resulting in improved quality of life, improved acute stroke management and reduced complications.
- ATTACH II
- Stroke Mobile Grant
- Socrates
- Mariss
- RE-SPECT ESUS (IRB Approved)
- Randomized, double-blind evaluation in secondary stroke prevention comparing the efficacy and safety of the thrombin inhibitor dabigatran etexilate 110 or 150 mg (twice daily) versus acetylsalicylic acid (100 mg once daily) in patients with embolic stroke of undetermined source (RE-SPECT ESUS)
- MILESTONE (IRB approved)
- A Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Parallel-Group Study to Evaluate the Efficacy and Safety of Two Dose Strengths of Dalfampridine Extended Release Tablets for Treatment of Stable Walking Deficits in Post-Ischemic Stroke (MILESTONESM)
The most common symptoms of a stroke are:
Trouble speaking
Trouble seeing
Weakness of one side of the body or difficulty walking.
If you or a loved one experiences one or several of these symptoms suddenly, please call 911.
For Referring Physicians
To refer a patient, call the Clinic Concierge at: 504-842-7436 or 1-855-312-4190.
- The Clinic Concierge assists with getting copies of patient records and scheduling clinic appointments.
- The Clinic Concierge team can also capture your preference for receiving post visit follow-up from the patient's appointment.
Image Gallery
Kay: "The care was extraordinary every step of the way"
