ABOUT US

Get Ahead of Stroke® is a national public education and advocacy campaign designed to improve systems of care for stroke patients.

Today the campaign is supported by a coalition of organizations with the goal of securing the best possible outcomes for stroke patients by driving policy change and public awareness nationwide. It was founded in 2016 by the Society of NeuroInterventional Surgery (SNIS).

Stroke Policies and Regulations

Policies and regulations that guide stroke treatment vary widely by state. Currently, most states do not have clear protocols to ensure a person who is having a severe stroke goes directly to a Level 1 stroke center, where they would have access to a specially trained neuroendovascular care team that can help them 24/7/365.

While a stroke patient might live near a facility that is best equipped to help them, they may be brought to one that is simply closer. The time lost in transfer from the nearest hospital to the best-equipped Level 1 facility that can help them jeopardizes a patient’s chance of recovery.

We Can Save Lives

Like trauma, stroke is time-sensitive and requires first responders to determine stroke severity.

Unlike trauma, most states do not have requirements for first responders to take severe stroke patients to a facility specially equipped to treat them.

Do stroke patients deserve less than trauma patients?

The Get Ahead of Stroke® campaign is working to:

  • Educate first responders about uniform stroke triage and enact legislative change in all 50 states requiring EMS to bring ischemic stroke patients with emergent large vessel occlusion (ELVO)—a clot that is blocking a large vessel and cutting off significant blood flow to the brain—to neuroendovascular-ready facilities with 24/7/365 coverage.
  • Ensure that neuroendovascular-ready facilities have qualified neurointerventionalists on staff and on call to perform the appropriate and often complex procedures.

Together, we can improve stroke systems of care so that all patients have the best possible chance to #SurviveStroke.

“For the first time in the history of stroke treatment, we have the ability to get patients with the most severe strokes to the appropriate place without delay.”