The province, through the Ministry of Health, reported that a complex and innovative intervention was successfully carried out at the Cullen Hospital in the city of Santa Fe, which saved the life of a 78-year-old woman, avoiding sequelae, after suffering an acute ischemic stroke.
The practice took place in the Acute Cerebral Vascular Service of the aforementioned hospital, which was created two years ago, and constitutes the second of its characteristics existing in the entire public health system of the country.
Some time before, the province of Tucumán created a similar service, with a highly complex area, equipped with the latest technology and trained human resources, with the same characteristics as the one that works in Cullen.
The head of the Acute Cerebral Vascular Service, neurosurgeon and interventional neurology specialist Alejandro Musacchio, explained its importance and its impact on addressing one of the most worrying health problems, cerebrovascular accidents (CVA).
“Strokes are the second cause of death, on average, in the world, and the first cause of disability,” he said, specifying: “however, hemorrhagic strokes must be differentiated from ischemic strokes (CVAs). Although both can be fatal if they are not diagnosed and treated on time, the ischemic type is fundamentally the one that leaves the most sequelae in the people who suffered it. ACVi are 80 percent more sequelae, and require immediate attention.
The sequelae can range from severe problems to speak, to move, to understand, and to have an autonomous life. And, unlike hemorrhagic stroke, stroke is more difficult to diagnose in the primary care consultation or in a general guard.
That is why Musacchio insists on the need to raise awareness and train health teams; and inform the public about the signs and symptoms with which it presents. Something that is being done, and that he proposes to expand throughout the province, through the Telemedicine network, among other ways.
THROMBECTOMY
As explained by the service in charge of Alejandro Musacchio, and coordinated by Luciano Langhi and Federico Eberbach, “the patient was successfully treated by mechanical thrombectomy, an advanced technique used for the acute treatment of patients with ischemic strokes.”
“ACVi is a medical emergency that occurs when a cerebral artery is blocked by the presence of a clot; causing irreversible brain damage and, in some cases, death. It is crucial that patients are treated quickly and effectively to minimize risks and improve their recovery,” added Musacchio.
And he explained that mechanical thrombectomy is an intervention that, through catheterization of the cerebral vessels (small catheters are entered through the arteries), clots that obstruct cerebral blood flow are directly removed.
“The 78-year-old patient was admitted to our center with symptoms of a stroke in the acute phase. After being evaluated and diagnosed together by our specialists (External Guard, Neurology, Imaging, Intensive Care and Neurointerventionism), she decided to perform a mechanical thrombectomy. The intervention was a success and the patient is in the recovery phase”, highlighted Musacchio.
A STROKE “WITH LITTLE PRESS”
Going deeper, the director of the Acute Cerebral Vascular Service considered it important to highlight “that mechanical thrombectomy is an advanced and innovative procedure, an effective and necessary alternative for the treatment of ischemic stroke.”
“Why?” Musacchio expressed and responded: “It is crucial that the population knows about the existence of this treatment and the importance of early medical consultation, since in many cases it can be the difference between life and death; as well as full or partial recovery.
“It happens that strokes, and particularly ischemic strokes -added the specialist-, are not so well known for their symptoms and their severity by most people, they do not have ‘so much press’, let’s say”.
“For example, cardiologists have done a great job of raising awareness in this: it is difficult for a person who experiences strong and sudden pain in the chest not to think, or worry, thinking that it could be something cardiological; and if it persists, call 911 or go to a guard. But when faced with the signs and symptoms of strokes, the same thing does not happen, and many times it is late”, compared Musacchio.
SYMPTOMS AND THE IMPORTANCE OF URGENT CONSULTATION
Finally, Alejandro Musacchio clarified that there is an important difference between hemorrhagic and ischemic strokes, which often makes it difficult for patients to consult, and for doctors to identify the condition; without warning that it is a serious event that requires “not wasting a minute”.
Hemorrhagic stroke is characterized by presenting with a lot of headache. It is a sudden, severe headache with no known cause, while in ischemic stroke this pain is not the most distinctive.
The ACVi manifests itself or can manifest itself with problems in vision, expression, speaking, understanding; the person may not locate himself in time and space, he is confused. With numbness or weakness, especially on one side of the body; with dizziness, with problems seeing with one or both eyes, with loss of balance or coordination of movements.
“In any case, you don’t have to wait for an ambulance to arrive: you have to take the person as soon as possible, in whatever environment is possible, to an emergency department guard, like Cullen Hospital, for example” Musacchio emphasized.
“In this way, we are going to prevent what started as an ischemia from becoming a hemorrhage, where life would be more in danger and the sequelae could be very serious,” concluded the head of the Cullen Acute Cerebral Vascular Service, Alejandro Musacchio. .
