UVA Stroke Center

When You Have a Stroke, This is Where You Want to Be

UVA's multidisciplinary stroke team includes board-certified stroke neurologists, neurointensivists, emergency department doctors, interventional neuroradiologists, neurosurgeons and specially trained stroke care nurses. The team is on call around the clock to quickly provide appropriate treatment for stroke patients, which is key to providing the best outcomes.

Our services include evaluation and treatment of cerebral aneurysms, intercranial hemorrhages, vascular malformations (also known as AVMs), carotid artery disease and more. Find out more about stroke causes, risk factors and more.

UVA's Stroke Center

• We meet the recommendations of the American Stroke Association Comprehensive Stroke Center guidelines. This means we can provide emergency stroke care at the onset of the stroke based on national guidelines. Quick care like this can help minimize or even reverse the potential problems of stroke.
• We offer some of the safest and most effective surgeries in the country – and we can treat you with the least amount of surgery more than 80% of the time.
•  We are certified by the Joint Commission, the American Heart Association and the American Stroke Association as a Primary Stroke Center – recognition that we provide exceptional quality services.

When a Stroke Happens

Our Stroke Team
On call 24 hours a day, UVA’s Acute Stroke Team includes specialty-trained stroke neurologists and a range of other specialists who will evaluate and treat you within minutes. A rapid evaluation is essential to providing the right treatment at the right time.

Stopping Stroke
Clotting causes most strokes. Here at UVA, we can use a clot-busting drug, known as tissue plaminogen activator (TPA). UVA was instrumental in this drug’s development, and it’s still the only FDA-approved drug therapy for acute stroke. The drug is now used everywhere, but it must be given within the first three hours or so of the onset of symptoms to be effective.

We also offer other clot-busting medications, depending on the timing of your treatment, as well as balloon angioplasty and stents before or after a stroke for stroke prevention.

Treating Stroke – Remotely
By using telemedicine equipment set up in emergency rooms across the state, our neurologists can rapidly evaluate patients without being in the emergency room.

Surgery

Our doctors excel at specialized surgical treatments to treat stroke caused by aneurysms or other cerebral vessel diseases like AVMs:

• Clipping, where the neurosurgeon performs microsurgery to remove part of the skull and place a metal clip across the aneurysm to prevent blood flow into the aneurysm sac; this procedure can result in immediate relief.
• Coiling, a less invasive technique that uses tiny platinum coils to prevent rupture. This procedure can be used up to eight hours after a stroke and can restore blood flow within minutes. It can also offer immediate pain relief and less recovery time.
• Gamma Knife, which can be used for small lesions that are located in or near critical brain areas or are very deep inside the brain.

After Stroke

We offer specialized care to speed your recovery.
Our Nerancy Neuro Intensive Care Unit (NNICU) provides state-of-the-art care:

• Intensive observation and monitoring following a stroke
• Special care when recovering from brain or spine surgery
• Compassionate and highly skilled nursing care
  

Our Stroke Unit provides high-standard care to help you recover from a stroke, including:

• State-of-the-art digital systems for tracking your heart functions
• Specially trained staff, including social workers, to help you with everything from returning to work to dealing with social and medical issues

For Ongoing Stroke Care

We have several specialized stroke clinics (patients are seen by doctor referral):

• UVA Comprehensive Stroke Clinic: This clinic is for prompt evaluation of newly referred patients or the continuing care of UVA patients after they leave the hospital.
• Interventional Neuroradiology Clinic: This is a specialized outpatient stroke clinic that evaluates patients with advanced cerebrovascular disease.
• Neurovascular Laboratory: This clinic provides ongoing testing for carotid artery disease.
  

We also offer stroke rehabilitation services, including an extensive range of services to help you return home with maximum function and independence:

• UVA-HealthSouth Rehabilitation Hospital
• Highly trained rehabilitation doctors and occupational, speech and physical therapists will help you along your recovery path