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http://circ.ahajournals.org/content/97/24/2474.full
Yes, I admit, my posts these days on my stroke blog have been few and far between. I have been extremely busy (more on this shortly) but I had to comment on this story right away before I bookmarked it and it got eventually lost in a sea of other things “to do”.
Liz Bestic, a health reporter in the U.K. recently heard the words “You have Had a Stroke” . I would otherwise have no reason to know this other than Google Alerts gives me a poke every time the words PFO (patent foramen ovale) and exercise (as well as a few other PFO/stroke combinations I follow) appear in the news and shortly thereafter in my email. Mostly these days I don’t get through all the alerts but “PFO Exercise Guidelines” still are tops on my radar because it is an area where much uncertainty remains and physician/patient EDUCATION still is lacking or non-existent depending upon who you ask.
Liz Bestic reveals in her great article about her stroke and PFO diagnosis that she is exercising while she ponders a difficult decision on what to do next. While this was the last interesting point made in her article and is what probably triggered the PFO/exercise/Google “link” that now has me linking her to my blog I hope it isn’t the last on this important theme. I do wish Miss Bestic well in her recovery and on her decision on how to best treat her PFO. I also hope it may happen that she will find it timely to perhaps do another follow-up story as she now will no-doubt become an expert on the same PFO/stroke journey many of us have already taken. Miss Bestic may in fact be in a unique position as a survivor and health reporter to help improve this education gap. Who knows, perhaps Google may be able to help with this important alert too. I welcome all your comments, and especially those of Miss Bestic if she happens to have her own name “tagged” and finds us here.
Here’s the link to her article and it is worth the read right away, don’t just bookmark it “for later” 
David Dansereau for know-stroke.org
post by David Dansereau for Know-Stroke.org
A healthy 8 year old boy is playing with friends when suddenly he begins to experience severe left eye pain. He goes to pick up the ball and his right arm isn’t cooperating, allowing the ball to continue to escape his grip. You also notice his speech just doesn’t sound quite right. What now?
The scenario outlined above is based upon a slide presentation by Rebecca Ischord, MD Director of the Pediatric Stroke Program at the Children’s Hospital in Pennsylvania. I had the privledge of attending her presentation at the International Stroke Conference in Los Angeles in February on the challenges and opportunities on detecting and educating physicians and the public about childhood stroke.
Here’s the presentation-> ISC2011childhoodstroke
If you don’t have time to view it now, (and you should if you want to really know-stroke), a quick presentation “take-away” that hit home was when Dr. Ischord mentioned one of the biggest barriers that needs to be overcome is the misconception that “everyone knows kids don’t have strokes”. That one sentence always sends shivers down my spine and continues to be the motivator behind the Community Impact Grant proposal I have written for the American Stroke Association. Now more than ever we need to find cost effective and “viral” ways of getting the word out to teach stroke awareness, beginning with our youngest Bright Minds, our kids. If you happened to read my last post, you are aware that Governor Deval Patrick of Massachusetts recently cut all funding for the stroke signs and symptoms campaign in that state. I’m sure other state budgets already have trimmed or eliminated their prevention campaigns or will soon cut off funding in these difficult times.
If you want to learn more about my Bright Minds proposal, click here.
Thanks to LicensedPracticalNurse.com for recognizing my work in writing my know-stroke blog and for including it as an essential resource on their site to educate their visitors about stroke. Please stop by their website to see the other top award winning stroke blogs for 2010 that were honored as valuable stroke rehab and recovery resources.
David Dansereau (Know-Stroke.org)
A report released earlier today by Reuters showed a correlation between high arsenic levels in a Michigan district’s drinking water with a nearly two-fold increase in stroke risk for that area studied. While this is only one study it is an area that is of particular interest, not only in Michigan but especially in many areas throughout the nation with older cities and aging water delivery systems.
If you’d like to find out what is in your local water supply, I suggest going to a reputable site developed by the Environmental Working Group (EWG), a DC based non-profit that has compiled a great resource of almost 20 million records obtained from state water officials to make it easier for you to find out ” What’s in Your Water?“.
Interestingly, throughout the country, EWG’s research has found 316 chemicals in tap water and many of them are going unregulated. Go here to check your water source by zip code: http://www.ewg.org/tap-water.
Here’s more on this water quality resource:
EWG’s searchable database of water test results allows the public to check out the quality of the water in their community, and EWG researchers have also compiled an easy-to-use guide to water filtration systems currently on the market, giving consumers some help when deciding which one works best for themselves and their families. Again, go here http://www.ewg.org/tap-water to check your water quality.
To learn more about the arsenic level in Michigan water and increased stroke risk reported here, go to the Reuters article :
Arsenic in drinking water tied to stroke risk by Amy Norton Reported by David Dansereau Know-Stroke.orgDavid Dansereau (Know-Stroke.org)
“These stroke meds are critical for many survivors to help prevent secondary stroke. What’s going on here with almost a 25% non compliance rate?”
- DP Dansereau, MS,PT for know-stroke.org
According to a new study by researchers at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center at least a quarter of patients who have suffered a stroke stop taking one or more of their prescribed stroke prevention medications within the first three months after being hospitalized. The study identified several modifiable factors that are associated with stroke survivors’ compliance in taking medication that can help prevent recurrent stroke. The paper appears online in the Archives of Neurology.
Researchers at Wake Forest Baptist and Duke Clinical Research Institute looked at compliance issues, as well as system and provider issues, such as what type of physician the patients saw, what kind of follow-up care they had and the patients’ understanding of their medications.
The researchers studied 2,598 patients from the Adherence Evaluation after Ischemic Stroke-Longitudinal Registry to evaluate how many stroke patients continued taking their prescribed medications to prevent a second stroke three months after their discharge from the hospital. They found about 75% of those studied had continued with their full regimen of medications three months after discharge, while almost 20% of patients had stopped taking one or more of their prescribed medications and 3.5% of patients weren’t taking any of their medications at three months.
Researchers learned from the study that multiple factors were associated with persistence in continuing secondary medication regimens, including, among other things, the presence of cardiovascular disease and risk factors prior to stroke, having insurance, having a better quality of life, and having an understanding of these medications and how to refill them.
post by David Dansereau,MS PT for know-stroke.org
Know-Stroke.org
You are not running, why should I donate?
If you have considered that it would still be the right thing to do but then clicked away, I’m here on video to remind you of why your donation to the American Stroke Association is important. If you have donated to my fundraising and stroke awareness efforts in past, I sincerely thank you again. I look forward to your continued support. I appreciate every penny that comes in, especially in a difficult economy. You can help make a difference. Every donation counts. I hope you have been helped by my blog at know-stroke.org, and now is the time for you to step up. It has been my intent from the start that through putting my story out there I might further educate others about their own condition. In doing so I have been blessed to get to know many of you personally over the phone and many have expressed thanks and stated they will become more informed in their local community to spread awareness. That is terrific! If you play my video you’ll see why (more than ever this year) I’ll need your help. That’s right, if you’ve already played the video, you know a knee injury has forced me out of the Boston Marathon this year. Even so, I can run the marathon in spirit with my sister and continue to move forward with my national stroke awareness campaign.
Please play the video and read my attached campaign summary and stroke awareness update I have prepared here> knowstrokedotorgprogressreport . I’ve also included a print version of my fundraising request form if you would prefer to mail in a donation here> 2010BostonMarathonPrintDonationForm.
You can also donate right now through our secure online donation link. Donations to the American Stroke association are tax deductible. You’ll see when you click the link, my wife and I have started off the donations by showing our support for my sister Lori through a $150 dollar donation (or $50 each) to honor each of our three children.
Corporate Donors can Cross the Boston Marathon finish line too!
In my next post later in the week I’ll update you on how top corporate or individual donors can get their logo or brand visible and cross the finish line with my sister. So, stay tuned and THANK YOU!
Best Regards,
David Dansereau
Know-Stroke.org
I know this is a start but we need to do more to raise stroke awareness. I was contacted on my blog today by AGA Medical letting me know of their new stroke awareness campaign. Congratulations, this is a step in the right direction, but it is something we should have started years ago. Here’s what they wrote,
“Thanks for your work on stroke awareness with Tedy’s Team. I know you are familiar with AGA Medical Corporation.
We have just launched a new stroke awareness campaign called TacklingStroke on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube. It features video testimonials from professional football player Tedy Bruschi, who had a stroke in 2005, recovered fully, and was able to resume his career.”
The post references a video link to Tedy’s PR piece about the stroke warning signs, but the FDA still prohibits AGA Medical from mentioning the word PFO. Here’s the video, it is the same one that has been on AGA’s site except now you view it on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/user/TacklingStroke
Bottom Line:
We need to do more by getting out there and educating in our schools, so our teachers, coaches and youth know stroke warning signs. Tonight I’m at Lincoln Middle School doing just that. If you think I did A good job, post your comments here. If you think I can improve, I want to know more. If you want to help with my goals, I’ll take that too!!
Drop me a line, I don’t bite….
