Comprehensive Stroke Center

Arrowhead Regional Medical Center (ARMC) is certified by the Accreditation Commission for Health Care (ACHC) as a Comprehensive Stroke Center. Our multidisciplinary team approach to delivering excellent stroke care has earned us the HFAP Seal of Excellence. This means that ARMC has the capacity to stabilize and treat acute stroke patients, provide acute care, administer tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) and other acute therapies safely and efficiently.

What is a Stroke?

A stroke happens when blood flow to the brain is blocked by a blood clot in a brain artery or because a brain blood vessel has burst. Stroke symptoms include headache, mental confusion, inability to speak, loss of consciousness and paralysis. When a stroke occurs, part or all of the brain is deprived of oxygen. Without oxygen, affected nerve cells in the brain stop functioning and begin to die within minutes. A stroke is a medical emergency. Stroke affects approximately 795,000 people each year in the United States and is a leading cause of serious, long-term disability.

Stroke Treatment

In 1996, the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) approved the use of a new drug called tissue plasminogen activator, or tPA, to treat stroke. tPA is classified as a thrombolytic drug which works to dissolve a clot or obstruction in the bloodstream. The time window for getting the best results from thrombolytic drugs is three hours from the initial symptom onset. The result is far less brain tissue damage. Therefore, time is of the essence when treating stroke. If you, a loved one or friend is experiencing stroke symptoms, call 9-1-1 immediately.

F.A.S.T. is an easy way to remember the sudden signs of stroke. FAST is:

Face Drooping: Does one side of the face droop or is it numb? Ask the person to smile. Is the person’s smile uneven?
Arm Weakness: Is one arm weak or numb? Ask the person to raise both arms. Does one arm drift downward?
Speech Difficulty: Is speech slurred? Is the person unable to speak or hard to understand? Ask the person to repeat a simple sentence such as, “The sky is blue.” Is the sentence repeated correctly?
Time to call 9-1-1: If someone shows any of these symptoms, even if the symptoms go away, call 9-1-1 and get the person to the hospital immediately. Check the time so you’ll know when the first symptoms appeared.

What’s New?

Arrowhead Regional Medical Center has earned the 2021 Get With The Guidelines® - Stroke Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award and also qualified for the following recognition:

• Target Stroke: Honor Roll Elite
• Target: BP Gold
• Check.Change.Control.Cholesterol Gold
• Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll (Inpatient)
• Target: Type 2 Diabetes Participant (Outpatient)

This award recognizes Arrowhead Regional Medical Center's commitment and success in implementing a high standard of stroke care by ensuring that their stroke patients receive treatment that meets nationally accepted, evidence-based standards and recommendations. To qualify for the Target: Stroke Elite Honor Roll, ARMC met quality measures developed to reduce the time between the patient’s arrival at the hospital and treatment with the clot-buster tissue plasminogen activator, or tPA, the only drug approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat ischemic stroke. If given intravenously in the first three hours after the start of stroke symptoms, tPA has been shown to significantly reduce the effects of stroke and lessen the chance of permanent disability.

Stroke Support Group

This group is for stroke survivors and their caregivers. It provides valuable information, speakers, a supportive environment and a chance to meet others experiencing similar life changes post-stroke. Through discussions, participants will learn ways to help problem solve, cope and understand more about stroke. Meets in person or on Zoom.

For meeting information, please visit the Support Groups page.