ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — When a stroke alert comes over the speakers at HCA HealthONE Swedish, their medical team knows that every second counts to give patients the best chance for a full recovery.

“We have to move quickly. And the goal is to get them from the hospital door – whether it’s the heliport or the emergency room – to the procedure room, so that the artery is opened in less than 45 minutes.” explained Dr. Don Frei, neurointerventional surgeon at Swedish HCA HealthONE. “We are probably faster than almost any other center in the world to get there because our team is ready.”

Maggie Wolanske

The team performed a simulated stroke alert to demonstrate its rapid response, starting on the helipad where a patient could first arrive to receive care.

“I like to say it’s really the pilot who saves the patient because we can go fast and we don’t run into air traffic,” said Erin Eubank, flight nurse for HCA HealthONE AirLife. “So we can get the patient, who is usually time-sensitive… from point A to point B as quickly as possible.”

Maggie Wolanske

Once the patient descends from the helipad into the procedure room, a team of medical experts meets to determine whether the patient is having a stroke and assess the necessary treatment.

“Millions of brain cells can die within minutes, so we really depend on our EMS system providing us with a report as quickly as possible,” explained Dr. Cynthia Dickerson, a neurologist at Sweden’s HCA HealthONE. “Especially younger people who may have a stroke, they are very likely to have symptoms that worsen quickly within minutes.”

Maggie Wolanske

During the simulated stroke alert, Dr. Dickerson asked the patient several questions focused on touch, balance, and movement.

“These questions help me identify, as a neurologist, how likely it is that it’s a stroke. And if it’s a severe stroke, it helps me to alert the right team,” said Dr. Dickerson.

Advances in technology have helped medical teams like HCA HealthONE Swedish with their treatments, but this team understands that time is always of the essence.

“We are treating more and more patients because the indications continue to expand,” explains Dr. Frei. “We participated in the initial thrombectomy trials that showed level 1 evidence that it is the most effective treatment in medicine. And we worked on time savings.”

Maggie Wolanske

Stroke is the fifth leading cause of death in the United States and can lead to serious long-term disability, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Signs of a stroke include:

• Sudden numbness or weakness in the face, arm, or leg, especially on one side of the body
• Sudden confusion, difficulty speaking, or difficulty understanding speech
• Sudden difficulty seeing in one or both eyes
• Sudden difficulty walking, dizziness, loss of balance or lack of coordination
• Severe, sudden headache with no known cause

“There are 800,000 strokes per year in the United States. Our population continues to age. There are risk factors like smoking, high blood pressure, atrial fibrillation and diabetes that cause hardening of the arteries.” , said Dr. Frei.
The Swedish doctors at HCA HealthONE want to educate people about the symptoms of a stroke and the urgency needed for those who may be suffering from a stroke.

“I think the key is if you’re in the population, you need to understand the signs and symptoms of a stroke. Call 911. EMS needs to get the patient to a comprehensive stroke center like Swedish , where we know what to do, not all hospitals do it,” Dr. Frei said.