By: Carl J Grasso. Clot busting drugs should be given as soon as possible to provide stroke victims a chance to limit their brain damage or to save their lives.
An ischemic stroke is where blood and oxygen to the brain is blocked by a blood clot.
Medical Terms: A Tissue Plasminogen Activator (“tPA”) is a an anti-coagulant that is used in thrombolysis or blood clotting.
Translation: tPAs are medicines that prevent and break up blood clots. tPAs are called “clot busters.”
How are blood clots in the brain treated with tPAs?
When a person has a stroke because a clot in an artery prevents the blood and oxygen from getting to the brain, tPAs should be given as soon as possible to dissolve the blood clot. The clot busting tPA is usually given by an IV drip which means by putting the drug directly into the bloodstream.
Clot busting tPAs often have guidelines or rules about when they should be given. Some hospitals limit the time to give someone the clot busters to 1 to 4 hours after the stroke. Afterward, hospitals may refuse to administer to life saving clot busting drugs.
New York Medical Malpractice Lawyer Cory Rosenbaum thinks the time limit is ridiculous. “I have seen clot busters save the life of a sixteen year old kid even though they were given more than 18 hours after his stroke. They were going to let the kid die instead of trying the drugs. A brave doctor gave it to the kid despite it being ‘late’ and saved his life. They should give the clot busters as soon as possible even if it is later in time than normal. What’s the choice? Do nothing and let people die while medicine sits on a shelf?”
The time limit, which hospitals call a “protocol,” is controversial possible many doctors and hospitals fail to diagnose the stroke right away.
In a case-file on MedQuest.com, Joan (last name is unknown) was 29 years old when she suffered a stroke. Joan, the case-file goes on to tell, had a history of migraine headaches but this migraine was different. This time, the whole left side of Joan’s body went numb.
Joan went to the emergency room at her local hospital where the doctor told her that everything was normal and that she should go home. Rosenbaum says “….this is a typical example of stroke medical malpractice. The doctor and hospital failed to recognize stroke. These are exactly the types of cases we accept.”
Joan’s symptoms progressively worsened. Joan eventually had a dragging foot, blurry vision, and memory problems. Finally, someone ordered an MRI and finally diagnosed Joan’s stroke.
If the doctor’s were more attentive at the first encounter, the use of a tPA might have stopped the blood clot in Joan’s brain before she suffered major brain injuries. They could have saved brain tissue.
If you or a loved one suffered a stroke and you have questions about your rights to sue and hold doctors and hospitals accountable for their medical malpractice, New York Medical Malpractice lawyers Cory Rosenbaum and Robert Fader, the founders of StrokeLaw.com, will speak with you for free.
MedQuest LTD. (no date) Patient Suffers Stroke Following Failure to Receive TPA Retrieved from http://www.medquestltd.com/patient-suffers-stroke-following-failure-receive-tpa/