Stroke Program

Stroke Services

Code Stroke

When a stroke occurs, it is a medical emergency where minutes matter. At Renown Regional, a Code Stroke team responds 24 hours per day, 365 days a year. During a Code Stroke, a series of evaluations and stroke treatment occur, including: 

• Activation of the Stroke team by first responders before hospital arrival.
• Immediate assessment on hospital arrival by a stroke neurologist. 
• Expedited advanced neuroimaging to determine if brain tissue can be saved.
• Initiation of acute stroke treatment within tens of minutes of patient arrival. This can include the administration of a clot-busting medication (thrombolytics) and/or the surgical removal of the blood clot by neurointerventional surgery (surgery completed via blood vessels).

Acute Stroke Care

Stroke survivors require additional treatment and rehabilitative therapies to prevent future strokes. The Renown Neurovascular and Stroke Program offers many different treatments to minimize reoccurrence and optimize chances for functional recovery.
Ask your primary care provider for a referral, or call 775-982-8001 for more information.  

These programs include:

• Diagnostics tools including MRI, CT angiography, catheter angiography, echocardiography, and long-term cardiac monitoring.
• Surgical treatments including: carotid artery stenting, intracranial percutaneous angioplasty, intracranial stenting, carotid endarterectomy.
• Consultations with physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech and language therapy and physiatry.
• Comprehensive evaluation by a Stroke specialist to initiate medications to prevent future strokes.

Stroke Performance Metrics and Outcomes

“Time is brain” and timely treatment of a stroke is critical for excellent patient outcomes.  When compared to other Comprehensive Stroke Centers in the U.S., Renown has consistently exceeded national averages for timely administration of thrombolytics (within 60 minutes of hospital arrival). 

*National average data obtained from Get With The Guidelines stroke registry 

In addition, we also exceed other Comprehensive Stroke Centers in timeliness to remove blood clots with a thrombectomy procedure.  
*National average data obtained from Get With The Guidelines stroke registry 

Not only do our stroke patients receive the right care and in a timely manner, they also consistently demonstrate better outcomes when compared to national averages. The CDC’s latest report from 2019 revealed a national average of 45% of Ischemic Stroke survivors that were discharged home from the hospital without requiring skilled care through rehab, nursing facility, or home health. At Renown, our patients consistently exceed this national average.  

Source: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nhsr/nhsr132-508.pdf

2023 Quality Score Card: Comprehensive Stroke Center

Additional Neurovascular Care 

In addition to the care provided to stroke patients, Renown Neurovascular and Stroke Program provides care to patients with other neurovascular diseases:

• Aneurysm coiling: An aneurysm is a weakening in the blood vessel wall. Renown Neurointerventional surgeons place coils and/or stents to re-strengthen the blood vessel wall to prevent future brain bleeding. 
• Traumatic brain injury: Renown Medical Center is a Level 2 trauma center with neurosurgical expertise available around the clock to surgically treat brain hemorrhages related to trauma.
• Hemorrhagic strokes: These strokes result from brain bleeding, and patients may have life-threatening complications related to brain swelling, which is treated by neurosurgery.
• Vascular malformations: Some hemorrhagic strokes are caused by an underlying abnormality in the blood vessels. Examples are arteriovenous malformations or dural arteriovenous fistulas. Treatments for vascular malformations require a multidisciplinary approach of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Neurointerventional Surgery available at Renown Regional Medical Center.