Dallas-based UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers found that the American Heart Association's stroke guidelines improve the quality and consistency of care for stroke patients and reduce hospital stays.
Here are three things to know about AHA guidelines:
1. The American Heart Association's "Get With The Guidelines-Stroke" program launched in 2003 and has since been adopted by more than 2,800 U.S. hospitals and has captured data from over 9 million stroke cases.
2. UT Southwestern researchers used that data, published in Stroke in Oct. 21, to evaluate the effectiveness of the guidelines.
3. The study found that hospitals participating in the program provided interventions more swiftly. The number of ischemic stroke patients receiving thrombolytic therapy within 60 minutes of hospital arrival rose from 19% to 75.3%. Additionally, rates of anticoagulation for atrial fibrillation increased from 55.7% in 2003 to 97.2% in 2022, dysphagia screening rates rose from 53.8% to 83.5%, and smoking cessation counseling increased from 44.7% to 97.8%.
"These improvements in stroke care quality mean that more patients can go straight home after their stroke, with fewer deaths, shorter hospital stays, and less need for hospitalization in skilled nursing facilities," lead author Ying Xian, MD, PhD, associate professor of neurology and head of research for UTSW's Cerebrovascular Diseases and Stroke Section, said in the release. "Significantly, the GWTG-Stroke program has established a global standard for stroke care, serving as a model for improving health care quality through data-driven, evidence-based interventions."