Apr 23, 2009 7:08 pm US/Eastern
HealthWatch: Carotid Stenting For Stroke Victims
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
An American has a stroke every 40 seconds.
The symptoms of a stroke can progress rapidly from minor weakness to, at times, full paralysis.
But now, life-saving procedures can reverse the symptoms and stop strokes dead in their tracks.
"I got up, and my mouth felt funny," Michael Guidicipietro said. "Then I tried drinking water, and it just ran out."
For Guidicipietro, that morning was unlike any other.
"I asked him, 'Daddy, what's wrong with you,' and he said, 'I don't know,'" daughter Tina Guidicipietro said. "He was almost dragging to get the words out, but he couldn't."
Guidicipietro was having a stroke.
One of the carotid arteries in his neck had collapsed, a side effect of previous radiation to the area for throat cancer that cut off blood flow from his heart to his brain.
With each passing minute, he was getting worse.
"Successions of the mini-strokes were getting closer together, and he was making less eye contact," Tina said.
"He was more and more [often] losing consciousness, he was unable to breathe by himself, he was unable to respond to commands, he became disoriented, and eventually he stopped all functions," vascular surgeon Dr. Vicken Pamoukian said.
Dr. Pamoukian and his team resuscitated Guidicipietro in the emergency room and, within 20 minutes, he was in the operating room for a procedure called "carotid stenting."
"We go up into the neck vessels with a catheter and with wires, cross that blockage, open it up with the balloon, put a stent inside," Dr. Pamoukian said. "We crush the diseased, processed area away, so that blood flow can continue up towards the head."
For carotid stenting to be effective, every second counts. Getting to the hospital and into the cath lab in under an hour gives the best chances for a good recovery.
Recent advances have made the procedure more accurate than ever, and Guidicipietro's stroke was completely reversed.
"He has no residuals deficits, his carotid has been open for a while now," Dr. Pamoukian says. "He has no neurologic deficits whatsoever."
"I go to the gym three days a week, and during the nice weather, twice a week I play golf," Guidicipietro says.
He thanks his daughter for getting him the best care.
"I love her," Guidicipietro says. "She did save my life."
The most common signs of stroke are weakness of the face, arm or leg, most often on one side of the body. Slurring of the speech is another tell-tale indicator.
Make sure to seek medical care immediately, even if the symptoms seem to be getting better on their own – time is of the essence.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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