Islanders' access to new stroke operation 'limited, but not hopeless'

A new emergency procedure has saved the lives of some Canadians stroke patients, but its availability is extremely limited for patients on P.E.I. or Newfoundland and Labrador.

• New emergency brain procedure saving stroke patients

The procedure, called endovascular thrombectomy, involves feeding a tiny catheter from an artery near the groin into the brain, where it grabs the clot and removes it. However, the operation requires a highly specialized medical team only available at 22 health care centres in Canada, and it must be performed within six hours of the onset of symptoms.

We really need as a province to recognize the signs and call 911. Charlotte Comrie

"Access for Islanders is dependent upongetting into emergency services immediately, having access to a CTA [brain image] immediately upon arriving in an emergency room and then having access to transportation to one of the two centres in the region that actually perform this procedure, all within six hours," said Charlotte Comrie, CEO of the Heart and Stroke Foundation in P.E.I. and Nova Scotia.

"So, our chances are relatively limited, but not hopeless," said Comrie.

Two hospitals in the region conductthrombectomies, Comriesaid Halifax and Saint John.

Good enough for now

Asthe procedure is relatively new, Comrie saidthe foundation believes the status quo on P.E.I. is good enough for now.

"It wouldn't be good enough, I wouldn't think, within the next three years, if we're still here at this place," she said.

Comrie said the province needs time to put procedures in place to transport Islanders from P.E.I. within the six-hour time limit. Access by air to the two hospitals and an agreement with those centres to take Island patients are the two most important factors.

"This is a really significant discovery for stroke treatment. It is the major discovery in the last 25 or 30 years," she said.

Islanders slow to seek help

It's "absolutely vital" that Islanders know the signs of stroke and getto the Queen Elizabeth or Prince County hospital where brain imaging can be done quickly.

Those signs are summed up in the acronym FAST:

Face is one side drooping?
Arms can you raise both?
Speech is it slurred or jumbled?
Time to call 911.

Islanders are among the slowest in the country to seek emergency help while experiencing stroke, Comrie pointed out.

"They don't call," Comrie said. "I don't know if it's that people just don't want to believe, they don't recognize the signs, they don't want to indicate they need help, they don't want their neighbours to know? I don't know.

"But we really need as a province to recognize the signs and call 911."

Prepare for change

Comrie encouraged health care professionals involved in stroke care in P.E.I. to think and talk about thrombectomies, adding the Heart and Stroke Foundation hasn't made any official requests or demands of the province yet.

"Many jurisdictions are struggling with the same issues we are, in that their populations have rural areas, northern areas, areas where the medical services aren't as advanced as you need to do this," Comrie said.

Health P.E.I.did not immediately return callsfor comment.

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