The following links (this page is in progress) provide useful research to support Stroke Smart efforts.
1) Highlighting time to treatment delays (only 3.8% of ischemic stroke patients got tPA): Many stroke patients do not receive life-saving therapy -- ScienceDaily,
2) Reducing Delay in Seeking Treatment by Patients With Acute Coronary Syndrome and Stroke, AHA Scientific Statement
3) Highlights the effectiveness of early stroke treatment: pdf Golden Hour Study (431 KB)
4) Demonstrates that in the more than 2 decades medication has been available to treat strokes, many patients still do not access that effective treatment in time: pdf Prehospital Delay Lack of improvement 2017 (546 KB)
5) Study showing only 15% of patients get to tPA in time.
6) Times from symptom onset to hospital arrival in the Get with the Guidelines--Stroke Program 2002 to 2009: temporal trends and implications. Shows that 75% of patients arrive too late.
7) Shows 64% of patients don't get to treatment on time: Barriers to Prompt Presentation to Emergency Departments in Colorado after Onset of Stroke Symptoms
9) "The typical patient loses 1.9 million neurons each minute in which stroke is untreated." American Heart Association Study
10) Surmounting cultural barriers to Stroke Smart training. A success story.
11) A Neurosurgeon's Guide to Stroke Symptoms, Treatment and Prevention (aans.org), Shows only 3 to 5% of stroke patients get to treatment in time. American Association of Neurological Surgeons.
12) A study showing the value of school-based stroke education programs. The children effectively become first responders, recognizing the signs of a stroke and calling 911. The children also transmit the knowledge to their parents, increasing community awareness overall even among adults. Click here.
13) A study outlining the global burden of stroke is here.
14) A study showing that "educational intervention was successful in improving students’ stroke symptom and treatment knowledge and intent to call 911 upon witnessing a stroke compared with controls," is here.
15) This study shows the results of adding "BE" to the "FAST" stroke sign acronym.
16) This study shows that "those less likely to call 911 were found in the following groups: 65 years or older, men, other race, unmarried, less than or equal to high school degree, less than $25,000 family income, uninsured, no PCP, burden of medical costs, fair/poor health, previous history of strokes, or interaction between burden of medical costs and less than $50,000 family income."
17) Some studies suggest that even prior experience with suffering strokes does not convey to getting treatment in time for subsequent strokes. Click here and here.
18) This study shows that the lifetime risk of stroke is 1 in 6.
19) This study shows that, "Targeting the younger generation for stroke education is one way to improve community knowledge of stroke symptoms thus increasing the chances that the stroke patient may receive acute stroke therapy. Children can also be used as a conduit to transmit educational information to parents and other family members thus further raising awareness."
20) A study showing that almost 1 in 3 patients with a confirmed ischemic stroke first called the family doctor practice is here.
21) This paper concludes that adding the BE elements of BE fast is not effective at identifying strokes, specifically, the paper concludes, "Adding coordination and diplopia assessments to face, arm, and speech assessment does not improve stroke detection in the prehospital setting": Prognostic Value of BEFAST vs. FAST to Identify Stroke in a Prehospital Setting - PubMed (nih.gov)
22) A UK study reports, "Act FAST has had some perceived impact on stroke recognition and response in some stroke patients and witnesses, but the majority reported no campaign impact," and, " "Despite greater levels of recall of specific ‘Act FAST’ elements among those receiving the Act FAST leaflet, there was no impact on stroke recognition and response measures." The study is available here.
23) Multicultural outreach can save more lives and reduce disability from strokes. One study, here, showed that, "Stroke knowledge differed significantly by race and Hispanic origin (p<0.001). The prevalence of recommended stroke knowledge was highest among non-Hispanic White adults (71.3%), followed by Non-Hispanic Black adults (64.0%) and Hispanic adults (57.8%)."
24) One study shows that, "Lack of English proficiency is strongly associated with lack of heart attack and stroke knowledge among Hispanics. This highlights the need for educational intervention about cardiovascular emergencies targeted to Spanish-speaking communities." The link is available here.
25) An article describing the need for Stroke Smart training in minority communties, given that research suggests, "suboptimal use of EMS transport among US stroke patients, especially by racial/ethnic minorities..." is here.
