What should you do if you suspect a stroke?

• Call 911 immediately.
• Ask to be taken to a Primary Stroke Center such as Northwest Community Hospital. An Illinois law passed in September 2009 mandates that any patient believed to be suffering from a stroke must be transported to the closest Primary Stroke Center.
• Be sure to note the time when symptoms first occurred.

What are the symptoms of a stroke?

• Numbness or weakness in face, arms or legs, on one side of your body
• Confusion or trouble speaking
• Dizziness, loss of balance or coordination, blurred vision
• Severe headache that comes on suddenly with no known cause

What is a Primary Stroke Center?

• A Primary Stroke Center is an acute care hospital that has the critical elements to improve stroke outcomes for patients experiencing stroke symptoms or stroke warning signs.
• NCH is certified by The Joint Commission to perform state-of-the-art stroke interventions for patients with stroke symptoms.
• Leading stroke specialists and a highly trained, multidisciplinary stroke team are trained to recognize the early warning signs of a stroke.
• We are trained and ready to perform a comprehensive set of interventions at a moment’s notice for any patient, hospital or healthcare provider in the northern Illinois/southern Wisconsin region.
• To be a Primary Stroke Center, hospitals must be certified every two years; NCH was first certified in 2006, 2008 and renewed in 2010.

What are the latest stroke interventions?

• If your condition is appropriate, the following comprehensive stroke procedures will be provided to you:
  • Within the first 4.5 hours after a stroke, tissue plasminogen activator (tPA), a clot-busting drug administered by IV, may be used to break up the clot that caused the stroke.
  • Up to eight hours after a stroke, neurointerventional radiologists can navigate directly to the clot to dissolve or remove it.
• These interventions can significantly diminish or reverse the effects of a stroke and prevent long-term disability.

For emergency or urgent intra-hospital transfers, please call our 24-hour Stroke Hotline at 847.618.8888.

To get a physician referral for your neurological care, call HealthConnection at 847.618.4YOU (4968) or view our multidisciplinary team of stroke specialists.