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Emergency Care for Stroke
Emergency Care for Stroke
When you're having a stroke, time is brain. Immediate emergency intervention is vitally important to prevent damage to brain tissue. But not all strokes are ischemic strokes (caused by a blood clot in the brain or carotid artery). 17% of strokes are hemorrhagic (a bleed caused by a ruptured blood vessel). Treating a hemorrhagic stroke with clot-busting drugs can cause more harm than good, so rapid diagnosis is vitally important.
Moving swiftly as part of the emergency stroke team, our Radiology Department uses an angiogram to pinpoint the site of the blockage or hemorrhage. When a clot has caused the stroke, treatment with clot-busting drugs can work quickly to restore blood flow.
In 2005, the Portsmouth Regional Hospital's Radiology Department began treating ischemic strokes (in certain cases) by injecting clot busting drugs directly into the blocked site in the brain or carotid artery. Traditional clot-busting drug treatments are slower and generally less effective, because it takes time for the drug injected elsewhere in the body to reach the target site.
In 2006, we introduced another remarkable technique called the Merci Stroke Treatment System, which allows the interventional radiologist to mechanically retrieve blood clots from the brain and carotid artery. Using a tiny device guided by a catheter, the radiologist ensnares the blockage and pulls it out, restoring vital blood flow.
Find a Physician
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Jeffery P. Colnes, MD, FACC
Seacoast Cardiology Associates, PA
2064 Woodbury Avenue
Newington Park, Building 1, Ste 103
Newington, NH 3801
Maps & Directions -
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Peter J. Dourdoufis, DO, FACC
Atlantic Cardiology Associates
333 Borthwick Avenue
Suite 401
Portsmouth, NH 3801
Maps & Directions -
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Alan S. Hymanson, MD, FACC
Seacoast Cardiology Associates, PA
3 TerraScape Parkway
Somersworth, NH 3878
Maps & Directions -
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Mark I. Jacobs, MD, FACC
Atlantic Cardiology Associates
333 Borthwick Avenue
suite 401
Portsmouth, NH 3801
Maps & Directions -
Archie McGowan, MD
Portsmouth Radiological Associates, PA
264 Lafayette Road
Building B
Portsmouth, NH 3801
Maps & Directions
Locations
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Seacoast Cardiology Associates, PA
Directions
2064 Woodbury Avenue
Newington Park, Building 1, Ste 103
Newington, NH 3801
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