CentraState Medical Center is an Advanced Primary Stroke Center with licensed certification from The Joint Commission and the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services. We are among an elite group of hospitals in New Jersey and across the country with a specially trained “Stroke Alert” response team, dedicated to providing expert care for stroke patients and facilitating stroke recovery. The team is available around the clock to assess patients immediately upon their arrival at the emergency department and initiate appropriate stroke treatment, which may include the administration of a “clot-busting” medication.
TRANSITION OF CARE STROKE OUTPATIENT CLINIC
Patients who have been hospitalized for a stroke or TIA need comprehensive follow-up care in the first weeks after hospital discharge to ensure the best outcomes.
Our Transition of Care Stroke Outpatient Clinic builds on the inpatient care you received for your stroke or TIA so that you continue to recover and prevent additional complications.
Before you leave the hospital we will set an appointment with a nurse who will:
- Provide education to patients and caregivers
- Monitor progress
- Help coordinate care and services, including rehabilitation appointments
- Review prescriptions
- Provide reports to your neurologist or primary care physician for post-stroke care
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STROKE SYMPTOMS AND PREVENTION
When a patient is experiencing stroke symptoms, every second counts in preventing or limiting damage to brain tissue. Symptoms of a stroke include:
- Sudden numbness or weakness in the face, arm, or leg, especially on one side of the body
- Sudden confusion, trouble speaking, or trouble understanding
- Sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes
- Sudden difficulty walking, dizziness, loss of balance, or loss of coordination
- Sudden severe headache with no known cause
If you or someone you know experiences any of these warning signs, call 9-1-1 immediately.
Nearly 800,000 Americans suffer a stroke each year. While it is more common among people age 65 and older, it can happen at any age. In fact, an estimated one in 10 people who experience a stroke are under the age of 45.
Certain risk factors can increase your chances of having a stroke, including:
- Uncontrolled high blood pressure and elevated blood cholesterol, especially LDL or “bad cholesterol”
- Excess weight and uncontrolled diabetes
- Excessive alcohol use—more than two drinks a day for men and one drink a day for women
- Smoking, which has been shown to double stroke risk
- Atrial fibrillation (or AFib), an irregular and sometimes rapid heartbeat
- Being over age 65 or of African American, American Indian or Native Alaskan descent
The same healthy habits that help protect your heart can also help prevent a stroke:
- Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables and choose foods low in saturated fat and cholesterol
- Maintain a healthy weight—excess belly fat, in particular, greatly increases your risk for cardiovascular disease
- Aim for at least 30 minutes of moderate exercise on most days
- Don’t smoke
- Limit alcohol use
- Work with your doctor to properly manage chronic health conditions such as high blood pressure and diabetes
If you’d like to learn about how to prevent stroke and manage your health, CentraState’s Star and Barry Tobias Health Awareness Center can help. It offers more than 200 health education and lifestyle management programs to help you and your family achieve your health and wellness goals.
For more information, please call 732-308-0570.