When it comes to strokes, people who have had one stroke are very likely to have a second stroke. By finding the root cause of the first stroke, doctors can do far more to prevent a second stroke. Of course, this is easier said than done. Oftentimes, the root cause of a stroke are very difficult for doctors to pinpoint. Unfortunately, there hasn’t been a completely objective method of determining this, and often even the most skilled doctors need to guess and check to try to protect the future safety of their patients.
Hopefully, this is something that is in the process of changing. Researchers now believe that they have created a software package that can effectively identify causes of stroke within patients, and thus reduce the likelihood of a second catastrophic stroke. This is one of the primary focuses when a patient is brought into the hospital with a stroke, and it’s been one of the stumbling blocks that doctors have been up against. Because of these inexact methods, many people suffer from disability and need senior care. Many people suffer a second stroke.
At Massachusetts General Hospital, a team consisting of the MGH stroke service has developed a piece of software that helps to provide an evidence based, fully automated method for diagnosing the cause of a stroke. Other stroke diagnostic techniques do exist, but there is a lack of conformity between them. Also, research has shown that many of these techniques are not very reliable. So far, this study has shown that the software method of diagnosing stroke causation is more effective than two of the leading non-automated methods. The hope is that this new method will help to save lives in the future by reducing the occurrence of multiple strokes in the same patient.
This is where things get complicated. Ischemic strokes are the most prevalent form of stroke that there is, but even within this larger type of stroke, there are about 150 different ischemic strokes. When traditional methods are used, there are often multiple different diagnoses given, and some of them are not correct. When this occurs, doctors have a tougher time of helping their patient to fully recover and keep them safe from a future stroke. Although some lives are saved through these methods, it is an inexact science at best. The new software supposedly is able to give a more accurate diagnosis, eliminating a lot of the uncertainty that traditional methods carry.
When a loved one suffers from a stroke, there are often a new set of physical needs that arise. Some stroke victims are left relatively unaffected, but others find themselves dealing with temporary or permanent paralysis or other mobility issues. Having a caregiver that can assist with in-home care services is a key part of the recovery process. In many cases, when care is given, those who have suffered from a stroke can gradually regain some or all usage of their body, but this doesn’t occur for everyone. Those of us who have had a loved one suffer from a stroke have watched
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