We provide comprehensive care for adult stroke patients from the emergency room to rehabilitation.
The HASTE team (Hyperacute Stroke Treatment Team) is a group of dedicated physicians led by one of our stroke specialists. We respond to stroke alerts throughout the Barnes Jewish Hospital campus and are responsible for diagnosing and treating acute strokes.
It is important to know that stroke can happen at any time without warning. Our HASTE team primarily responds to consultations in the BJH emergency department, but we’re also available to help at a moment’s notice anywhere in the hospital to provide evidence-based stroke care to our patients. In the critical first few hours after a stroke strikes, it is important to have access to acute therapies that can help with restoring blood flow to the brain; our team of experts is dedicated to expanding access to these treatments in patients that qualify.
Our inpatient team is highly dedicated to assisting stroke patients during the crucial first few days after their stroke. During this period, we focus on understanding the underlying cause of the stroke and provide evidence-based treatments that are most effective in reducing the risk of further strokes. Additionally, we conduct assessments to identify rehabilitation needs and create individualized discharge plans tailored to each patient’s specific needs. We aim to provide comprehensive care that helps our patients achieve the best possible outcomes.
Our Neurological ICU, one of the largest in the United States, may be necessary for stroke patients. We collaborate with specially trained neurointensivist colleagues until transfer to the adult stroke team.
At our Comprehensive Adult Stroke Clinic, we provide ongoing evaluation and care to stroke survivors. We continuously assess their condition and develop personalized care plans to assist in recovery and prevention of subsequent strokes. The majority of strokes are caused by well-known traditional risk factors such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, smoking, obstructive sleep apnea, and heart disease. It is vital to control these risk factors to reduce the likelihood of future strokes and other medical complications.
Our specialists offer subspecialty clinics for rare causes of stroke, such as the following:
- Cervical artery dissections (carotid or vertebral artery dissection)
- Genetic causes of stroke such as sickle-cell disease, Fabry disease and others
- Moyamoya disease
- Fibromuscular dysplasia (FMD)
- Arteriovenous and other intracranial vascular malformations (AVM)
- Antiphospholipid antibody syndrome (APLS)
- Inflammatory blood vessel disorders such as temporal arteritis and cerebral vasculitis (infectious, toxic and others)
- Cancer-associated stroke
- Venous disorders such as cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST)
- Cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA)
Many causes of stroke require a collaborative treatment approach. We work with our colleagues to provide a customized treatment plan based on each patient’s unique needs and goals. The treatment team may comprise of experts from neurosurgery, neurointerventional radiology, medicine, cardiology, hematology, oncology, vascular surgery, obstetrics, gynecology and other relevant specialties.
Our healthcare facility offers an ever-expanding telestroke service that works with our HASTE team. Our telestroke program serves as the external branch of our stroke consultation service in emergency settings.
In the case of acute stroke, patients are directed to the nearest emergency department. The treating emergency physician will then contact us for guidance on the emergent evaluation and care of stroke patients. For hospitals in our telestroke network, we can even join a HIPAA-compliant video call to speak with and examine the patient if necessary.
As always, time is a crucial factor in acute stroke care. Through our telestroke program, we can assist our community hospital provider colleagues with faster, more accurate diagnosis and treatment of stroke patients. We take pride in extending our stroke care expertise to our community partners throughout the St. Louis region. We partner with several hospitals in the St. Louis metropolitan area, greater Missouri, and Southwestern Illinois.
If your organization is interested in learning more about the WashU telestroke network, contact Tina Lybarger-Ledyard at tina.lybargerledyard@bjc.org.
Strokes can cause various issues, including vision, speech, memory, movement, and balance difficulties. For some patients, these issues can persist and require relearning of basic functions and everyday activities. Ongoing rehabilitation is essential for recovery following a stroke. As a Comprehensive Stroke Center, we work closely with neurorehabilitation specialists to help our patients in their recovery journey after a stroke.
We start evaluating each patient’s neurorehabilitation needs from the beginning of their hospitalization. Our multidisciplinary team, consisting of providers from stroke neurology, physiatry, physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy and social work, helps determine the best rehabilitation course for each patient. The result is a personalized rehabilitation plan for each patient that continues after discharge from the hospital and return home.
