May is Stroke Month: Choose a Comprehensive Stroke Center for the Most Advanced Care

When it comes to stroke, time is brain. That’s why it’s so important to choose a Comprehensive Stroke Center like Albany Medical Center.

Comprehensive stroke centers offer the most advanced services for diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation for stroke, leading to the best outcomes. Albany Med’s stroke team is led by a team of neurologists, neuro-radiologists, neurosurgeons, vascular surgeons, nurse practitioners, rehabilitation specialists, and nurses and residents with specialized training in diagnosis and treatment of stroke, making the hospital a resource for other hospitals in a 25-county area that transfer patients to Albany Med for treatment.

Albany Med’s stroke team is ready 24/7 to provide patients with leading-edge treatments. For instance, Albany Med is the only hospital in the region that offers mechanical thrombectomy s, a procedure that has been shown to increase a patient’s chances of living without disability after having a stroke.

With four full-time, fellowship-trained neurosurgeons and two bi-plane rooms, multiple procedures can be performed simultaneously, and at any time of day or night.

“Albany Med is committed to providing the most advanced technology and highest quality care to save and improve the quality of life for stroke patients throughout the Capital Region and beyond,” said Alan Boulos, MD, chair of the Department of Neurosurgery, Herman and Sunny Stall Chair of Endovascular Surgery, director of the neurovascular section and professor of neurosurgery and radiology at Albany Medical College.

If you or a loved one is experience symptoms of a stroke, call 911 immediately. To recognize symptoms, remember BEFAST:

• Balance problems
• Eye problems (difficulty with vision)
• Facial droop
• Arm or leg weakness or numbness
• Slurred speech
• Time to call 911