Emergency Medical Services

Severity-based triage and transport: If it works for trauma, it can work for stroke.

How can EMS help patients survive and thrive? It’s all about knowing where to go for stroke and going there first. As first responders, you know how important it is to take severe trauma patients to Level 1 trauma centers — even if they are not the closest hospital. The stroke system could and should work the same way.

With your help, it can. Here’s what you should know:

Different types of strokes respond to different treatment protocols. In severe cases (emergent large vessel occlusions, or ELVOs), a thrombectomy can remove a clot quickly, but not all hospitals have the staff or expertise to do this procedure around the clock.
And transfers to facilities that can do this lifesaving procedure waste precious time as the brain “holds its breath” waiting for blood flow to be restored.
Severe stroke patients need Level 1 care right away.

“We would bypass the hospital that was 14 minutes to go to the stroke center that was 19 minutes away all of the time.”

– Scott McDaniel, Monroe County EMS and stroke survivor, Waterloo, Illinois

Severe Strokes and Mechanical Thrombectomy Resources

Severe strokes (or ELVOs) are kind of like a major traffic jam, preventing blood from going to the brain. As such, they can do a lot of damage very quickly. To avoid death and long-term disability, patients with severe strokes need a significant intervention to get things moving.

The Get Ahead of Stroke^® campaign has put together resources for EMS so you can understand what a severe stroke is, how the lifesaving treatment called mechanical thrombectomy works, and the role you play in helping patients survive and thrive following a stroke. Learn more by:

Watching and sharing the “Anyone Can Have a Stroke” YouTube video.
Downloading and printing the EMS fact sheet.
Watching and sharing our “5 Things EMS Should Know About Stroke” YouTube video.
Reading about about the lifesaving procedure.
Exploring stroke centers.
Comparing the trauma and stroke models of care.

Stroke Scales EMS App

More than 30,000 EMS providers have downloaded the app.
Download today on Apple devices!

How do I know if it’s a severe stroke?
Mild symptoms do not necessarily mean it’s a mild stroke. EMS need tools to make the best decision possible in real time.

That’s why we designed the free Stroke Scales for EMS app, which can help you assess stroke severity and make decisions quickly about where to take a patient.
By selecting one of several common stroke scales and answering just a few short questions on the patient’s abilities or deficits, you can make a life-saving decision.

Did You Know?
87% of all strokes are ischemic—or clot—strokes. Removing them quickly through thrombectomy has proven to save lives and prevent disability.

Stroke affects people of all ages, even children. If you’re triaging a young person, don’t eliminate stroke as a possible cause of their symptoms.

Level 1 stroke centers have specially trained care teams literally on standby to get patients from the ambulance into surgery in a matter of minutes. This quick response is what saves lives and gets patients back to their families.

“When we arrive on the scene and our assessment leads us to suspect a stroke, our primary focus is on rapid transport and minimizing our on-scene time.”

— Kaitlyn Reef, EMS Battalion Chief, Fern Creek Fire Department - Louisville, KY

Emergency Medical Services

Severity-based triage and transport: If it works for trauma, it can work for stroke.

Severe Strokes and Mechanical Thrombectomy Resources

Stroke Scales EMS App

How do I know if it’s a severe stroke?

Did You Know?

We’re Here to Help

Contact Us

Follow Us