A patient brought to our emergency room is screened by professionals to see if the patient is actually having a stroke. After the initial screening, the patient is seen by a neurologist, who will conduct a physical and historical check on the patient with emphasis on neurological symptoms and severity of damage. At this time blood work is done to establish a baseline, to make sure there are no abnormalities before the anti-clotting medicines are given. The patient will then have an EKG or electrocardiograph, which is an instrument used to record electrical changes during the heartbeat and to diagnose abnormalities of heart action.
The patient will then be brought to the radiology department where he will undergo a CT scan, if appropriate. A CT scan, or computed tomography, is a test that gives a picture of the brain which enables the physician to exclude any bleeding inside the brain. At this point, the patient may be a candidate for either intravenous thrombolysis or intraarterial thrombolysis.
