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Rhode Island Hospital's wake-up stroke protocol saves lives


Stroke survivor Andrea Viveiros smiles with the doctors that saved her life, Dr. Maheen Rana and Dr. Shadi Yaghi with Rhode Island Hospital's comprehensive stroke center. (Submitted photo)
Stroke survivor Andrea Viveiros smiles with the doctors that saved her life, Dr. Maheen Rana and Dr. Shadi Yaghi with Rhode Island Hospital's comprehensive stroke center. (Submitted photo)
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"About 15 to 20% of people who come in with stroke symptoms, they actually wake up with their symptoms," said Dr. Shadi Yaghi, co-director of the comprehensive stroke center at Rhode Island Hospital, the only one in Rhode Island.

Andrea Viveiros was one of them.

"I was having a cigarette. It was like any other normal morning and then I attempted to pull my hair back and I couldn't raise my right arm," Viveiros told NBC 10 News.

This was a year ago, on Feb. 16, 2022.

She was only 44 years old.

"Quick action by my family - I got to the emergency department within seconds because I was so close," Viveiros said.

She was first seen by Dr. Maheen Rana at Rhode Island Hospital's comprehensive stroke center.

"Our goal is to get a sense of is this person having a stroke and is there a treatment we can offer," said Rana.

The question in Viveiros' case was when her stroke actually began.

"If someone wakes up with their symptoms, the vast majority of them, they were last seen normal the night before, so technically they're outside of the four-and-a-half-hour window to be able to safely give them the clot busting medication," Yaghi said.

Now, they can determine that timing.

A CT scan determined Viveiros was, indeed, having an ischemic stroke.

She then had an MRI, which measured tissue damage.

"We proved that she's within four-and-a-half hours," Yaghi said.

"Andrea was the first patient getting the treatment within this protocol," she added.

Viveiros said she was pretty much back to normal four weeks after her stroke.

"I'm blessed, very blessed," she said.

She has since quit smoking, which is a risk factor for stroke.

So is high blood pressure and diabetes.

Knowing your risks and controlling them is a big first step.

Knowing the symptoms of stroke could save your life.

"Weakness, numbness, slurred speech, problems speaking or understanding, sudden balance problems, vision changes, they should call 911," said Yaghi.

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