11 Those with lower income and lower education are more likely to report stroke symptoms. 10 Blacks are more likely to report stroke symptoms than whites. 9 Data from 30 239 participants in the REGARDS cohort study (Reasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke) showed that 22.5% of the population >45 years of age reported stroke symptoms, transient ischemic attack (TIA), or a recent or distant stroke. 9 Approximately 800 000 people in the United States have a new or recurrent stroke each year. 9 About 7.2 million Americans ≥20 years of age have had a stroke. Someone in the United States has a stroke every 40 seconds, and someone dies of a stroke every 4 minutes. However, the general approach and principles should be useful to many healthcare professionals and others involved in such a system. Operationalizing these elements will vary in different parts of the United States (and the world). The key components of a modern stroke system of care are outlined here. Reducing poststroke disability would also improve quality of life, reduce costs, and reduce the burden on patients, their families, third-party payers, and governments. A system of care that reduces stroke-related deaths by just 2% to 3% annually would translate into ≈20 000 fewer deaths in the United States alone and ≈400 000 fewer deaths worldwide. The public health implications of an optimized stroke system in the United States and worldwide are profound. This statement and its recommendations span primordial and primary prevention, acute stroke recognition and activation of emergency medical services (EMS), triage to appropriate facilities, designation of and treatment at stroke centers, secondary prevention at hospital discharge, and rehabilitation and recovery.
This statement provides an update to prior publications to help guide policymakers and public healthcare agencies in continually updating their stroke systems of care in light of these changes.
3–8 The past 10 years have witnessed additional gains in knowledge and methods to improve stroke outcomes (eg, extension of intravenous alteplase to 3–4.5 hours, hemicraniectomy, endovascular thrombectomy, telestroke, stroke center certification, mobile stroke units, neurocritical care) in the context of significant changes in the organization of healthcare policy in the United States.
2 Several other American Heart Association (AHA) and ASA publications continue to provide guidance on improving stroke care. 1 A subsequent statement in 2013 issued recommendations on the interactions within stroke systems of care. In light of these improvements, the American Stroke Association (ASA) first issued policy recommendations for the development of stroke systems of care in 2005. In acute stroke, scientific knowledge and clinical care have improved in the past 2 decades. To translate advances in scientific knowledge and innovations in clinical care into improvements in patient outcomes, systems must be in place to facilitate optimal healthcare delivery. This statement and its recommendations span primordial and primary prevention, acute stroke recognition and activation of emergency medical services, triage to appropriate facilities, designation of and treatment at stroke centers, secondary prevention at hospital discharge, and rehabilitation and recovery. Over the past decade, stroke systems of care have seen vast improvements in endovascular therapy, neurocritical care, and stroke center certification, in addition to the advent of innovations, such as telestroke and mobile stroke units, in the context of significant changes in the organization of healthcare policy in the United States. The aim of this policy statement is to provide a comprehensive review of the scientific evidence evaluating stroke systems of care to date and to update the American Stroke Association recommendations on the basis of improvements in stroke systems of care. In 2005, the American Stroke Association published recommendations for the establishment of stroke systems of care and in 2013 expanded on them with a statement on interactions within stroke systems of care. Customer Service and Ordering Information.Stroke: Vascular and Interventional Neurology.Journal of the American Heart Association (JAHA).Circ: Cardiovascular Quality & Outcomes.
Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology (ATVB).