Doctors, patients need to learn to recognize a stroke
Submitted on May 23, 2006 - 12:00am.
George L. Richards III - Hampton University Short Course 2006
WASHINGTON - Doctors are often poorly trained and lack the skills needed to identify a stroke, a medical group says.
Strokes are the third-leading cause of death in the nation and the leading cause of long-term disability, according to the American Stroke Association, but they are often misdiagnosed. A stroke is a blood clot that cuts circulation and can cause brain damage.
According to the group, individuals are not the only ones who need to learn more.
Dr. Mark J. Alberts, professor of neurology and director of the stroke program at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine, said one of the main purposes of legislation, the STOP Stroke Act, is to promote education for doctors.
Strokes are the third-leading cause of death in the nation and the leading cause of long-term disability, according to the American Stroke Association, but they are often misdiagnosed. A stroke is a blood clot that cuts circulation and can cause brain damage.
According to the group, individuals are not the only ones who need to learn more.
Dr. Mark J. Alberts, professor of neurology and director of the stroke program at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine, said one of the main purposes of legislation, the STOP Stroke Act, is to promote education for doctors.
Full text available to subscribers only.