'Cerebrovascular Center' posts

It’s easy to get caught up in day-to-day demands and ignore changes in our health. It may not be wise, however, to dismiss those changes as symptoms of a hectic life. Blurred vision, dizziness or headaches that don’t get better can signal something serious.

Anywhere from 1 to 6 percent of Americans have a brain aneurysm but don’t know it. An aneurysm is a blister-like bulge on the wall of a blood vessel. It can go unnoticed for a long time. If it’s not treated, the pressure of the blood weakens the vessel, and the aneurysm grows like a balloon filling with air. If the aneurysm bursts, it causes a stroke.

An aneurysm can put pressure on nerves or tissue in the brain, which may cause:

• Headache or neck pain
• Vision problems, enlarged pupil, drooping eye lid
• Numb face
• Severe drowsiness

If you have a brain aneurysm, your doctor may ...

Carotid stenosis is a build of up plaque in the large arteries that supply the brain with blood. This buildup of plaque increases the risk of transient ischemic attack (TIA) and stroke. Risk factors for carotid artery stenosis include hypertension, hyperlipidemia, obesity, and tobacco use. Symptoms of carotid artery stenosis include facial droop, weakness or numbness on one side of the face and body, slurred speech, garbled speech, gait instability, dizziness, and visual disturbances including blurred vision, loss of vision and double vision.

Carotid artery stenosis can be diagnosed with several diagnostic studies including carotid ultrasound, MR angiography (MRA), CT angiography (CTA), and cerebral angiogram.

Treatment options for carotid artery stenosis vary depending upon the severity of stenosis, history of TIA or stroke, and...

SEATTLE, Feb. 7, 2012 – Since diagnosing and managing cerebrovascular disorders can require a complex assortment of specialty evaluations and testing, Swedish Neuroscience Institute (SNI) recently opened a new Cerebrovascular Center on the first floor of James Tower at the Cherry Hill campus (550 17th Ave., Suite 110, Seattle).

SNI used patient-focused convenience as the foundation for designing the new facility, which opened Dec. 19, 2011.

“In this one location, SNI has consolidated its existing advanced diagnostics and interventional therapeutics, as well as the newest generation of technology,” said David Newell, M.D., cerebrovascular neurosurgeon and chief of Neuroscience. “The center also features the expertise of a care team that includes cerebrovascular neurosurgeons, vascular neurologists, neuroendovascular and radiosurgical specialists, neuroradiologists, neurohospitalists, and advanced practitioners who are trained to evaluate and treat cerebrovascular disorders.”

The facility also includes a Stroke Clinic.

A comprehensive menu of procedures

In addition to advanced diagnostics, the center offers ...

WALLA WALLA, WA, Feb. 7, 2012 – Walla Walla area residents facing a potential or actual acute stroke will benefit from a recently formed partnership between the Swedish Neuroscience Institute (SNI) Acute TeleStroke Program and Walla Walla General Hospital (WWGH) that will bolster WWGH’s stroke support services through 24/7, around-the-clock access to SNI’s nationally recognized stroke team experts via real-time, telemedicine-based technology.

This TeleStroke partnership provides an as-needed link between the Emergency Center team at WWGH and the comprehensive team of stroke specialists based at the Swedish/Cherry Hill campus campus in Seattle. With the help of a secure, video-conferencing network, members of SNI’s Stroke Program are able to quickly perform ‘virtual’ bedside neurological evaluations that allow them to examine patients, review brain images and quickly select the best acute stroke treatments in collaboration with WWGH Emergency Center physicians.

WWGH sees more than 125 patients a year who are experiencing signs and symptoms of TIA or Stroke. Many of those patients may qualify for the TeleStroke program. “We have the equipment and team, now we have the expertise of the physicians and staff at Swedish to help better serve our patients,” said Jackie Fullerton, vice president for patient- care services at WWGH. “The difference this can make for our patients and their families is huge.”

In fact, the first week that the program went live ...