Stroke of luck

Elizabeth Manasserian was admitted to the hospital in February 2008 with a severe headache. Four days later, she woke up unable to speak, and the right side of her body had gone numb.

Her doctor at Glendale Adventist Medical Center told her she had a Transient Ischemic Attack, which is a stroke that lasts less than 24 hours, the Glendale resident said. Testing showed she had vasculitis. Her carotid artery was splitting and allowing blood to enter her brain, she said.

“The reason I was saved is because of the expertise of the doctors at Glendale Adventist Medical Center,” she said.

Manasserian will share her experience during an educational luncheon Thursday in the main auditorium of the medical center. “Surviving Stroke: Updates in Local Treatment Options” is co-sponsored by the Commission on the Status of Women and Glendale Adventist Medical Center Neuroscience Institute.

After a CAT Scan and MRI, she underwent surgery to have three stents inserted to keep the carotid artery together to stop the dissection.

“This has helped me to go back to my normal functions and routine,” she said.

She’s taking care of her health more so than ever before. She joined a gym and has an angiogram every 2 1/2 months.

“I feel great — wonderful,” she said. “I appreciate every day.”

Throughout the nation, 700,000 people a year have a stroke, said Dr. Lance Lee, stroke program director at Glendale Adventist. One to two people a day are admitted to Glendale Adventist for a stroke, he added.

Lee will be emphasizing the importance of getting to the hospital after a stroke, and that patients should ask the ambulance team to take them to a hospital with a stroke center, he said.

“My goal is to tell the public we have an advanced primary stroke center in Glendale at Glendale Adventist, and that’s what we are trying to educate the public about,” he said.

In addition to an acute stroke unit, Glendale Adventist also has a rehabilitation unit the patients are moved to when they are stabilized.

In addition, the window for successful treatment is three hours for a non-bleeding stroke, but the medical field is considering extending that to 4.5 hours, he said.

The window varies for different types of strokes, Lee said.