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Stroke Treatment at UCI Medical Center
Stroke is a leading cause of death and permanent disability in the United States. But many of these tragedies could be prevented if people were alert to the symptoms of these life-threatening brain attacks-and sought immediate treatment from experienced stroke centers.
As Orange County's only certified primary stroke center, UCI Medical Center treats a stroke with the same urgency as a heart attack.
"Strokes caused by blood clots account for 80 percent of all brain attacks," says neurologist Dr. Steven Cramer, co-director of the UCI Stroke Center. Called "ischemic" strokes, these catastrophic events occur when a clot lodges in an artery, interrupting the blood supply to the brain. Deprived of nour- ishment, brain cells dis- integrate rapidly. "If a person survives, the ability to speak, under- stand, see or move may be seriously impaired," says Cramer.
Patients suffering ischemic brain attacks have a 55 percent better chance of avoiding major disability if...