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What can advanced stroke care mean to your loved one?

Memories. Mobility. Stories. Lives.

When a stroke happens, immediate care is crucial to save a life. And it’s crucial that expert physicians, stroke specialists and neurosurgeons provide that care.

The Primary Stroke Center at Brookwood Baptist Medical Center

Certified Primary Stroke Center

Brookwood Baptist Medical Center is a Certified Primary Stroke Center-designated hospital by the Joint Commission. This means that we are prepared 24 hours a day, seven days a week to treat these most urgent of medical emergencies. Plus, we’re able to provide the highest level of care to stroke patients, and our team of doctors and staff are trained in advanced stroke care.

Brookwood Baptist Medical Center Stroke Team

BBMC Stroke team

Other Awards & Recognition for Stroke Care

AHA Stroke Gold Plus awardBBMC has received:

  • Get with the Guidelines – Stroke Gold Plus
  • Target: Stroke Honor Roll Elite Plus achievement award, American Heart Association / American Stroke Association for excellence in stroke care

To Save a Brain, remember: BE FAST

With stroke, every second counts. The faster a patient gets to the hospital and receives treatment, the better their chance of recovery. Recognize the symptoms of a stroke so you can react quickly and save a brain – or a life.

Balance. Dizziness or lack of coordination
Eyes. Blurry or double vision or loss of vision in one eye
Face. Ask the person to smile. Does one side of the face droop?
Arm. Is one arm weak or numb? Ask the person to raise both arms. Does one arm drift downward?
Speech. Is speech slurred or strange? Ask the person to repeat a simple sentence. Do they do it correctly?
Time. Time is critical. If a person shows any of these symptoms, call 911 immediately.

Saving lives. Saving quality of life.

Recognizing symptoms, calling 9-1-1, and receiving emergency care are only the beginning of treatment for a stroke. Brookwood Baptist Medical Center provides ongoing care to help those suffering from stroke regain function for a return to daily living.

  • 24/7 neurology coverage
  • Access to clot-busting drugs like tPA and other medical procedures
  • Interventional neurology
  • A dedicated, specialized care team to support patients throughout all aspects of stroke treatment
  • Diagnosis and treatment plans based on national guidelines for stroke care
  • Physical therapy
  • Stroke education for patients and families

Types of Stroke

Ischemic Stroke

An ischemic stroke happens when an artery that supplies blood to the brain becomes blocked. An ischemic stroke can be treated several ways, individually or in combination, including a mechanical thrombectomy or a clot-busting drug called tPA.

Hemorrhagic Stroke

A hemorrhagic stroke happens when a blood vessel ruptures in the brain, putting too much pressure on the brain tissue and starving it of oxygen. A hemorrhagic stroke can be treated using a variety of non-surgical and surgical methods.

Stroke Treatments

A wide range of stroke treatments are available, depending on the type of stroke and the doctor’s judgment based on the individual’s needs.

Ischemic Stroke

  • A mechanical thrombectomy, in which a doctor inserts a catheter into a vein in the groin and runs it all the way up to the brain to remove the blockage
  • tPA, a clot-busting drug that can save lives and reduce the long-term effects of stroke. The drug needs to be administered within 90 minutes from the beginning of the stroke, so it’s crucial to recognize the symptoms of stroke and react fast.

Hemorrhagic Stroke

Non-surgical methods:

  • Controlling blood pressure
  • Stopping any medications that could increase bleeding, like warfarin or aspirin
  • Performing a blood transfusion with clotting factors to stop ongoing bleeding

Surgical methods:

  • Endovascular treatment, in which a long tube is inserted into a blood vessel in an arm or leg and run up to the brain, and a coil or clip is placed to prevent further bleeding
  • Aneurysm treatment, which involves removing part of the skull to find the aneurysm (weakened and ruptured section of the blood vessel) and clamp it to stop the bleeding
  • Decompressive craniotomy, which is used in life-threatening situations – a physician opens the skull to remove blood and release pressure on the brain

The stroke specialists at BBMC’s Primary Stroke Center have the expertise to quickly make a diagnosis and intervene with the best treatment possible for the patient’s condition.

Our Stroke Stories

T'nesheia's Stroke Story

May 28, 2019

T'nesheia Davis

Dr. Jitendra Sharma, interventional neurologist and medical director of Brookwood Baptist Health’s Primary Stroke Center

When T’nesheia Davis welcomed home her newborn daughter on April 4, she thought the biggest challenges ahead were dealing with her children and her family’s impending move the next week from Atlanta to Birmingham, Alabama. The last worry on her mind was the possibility of stroke.

T’nesheia DavisOn May 1, the first day of Stroke Awareness Month and less than a month after the birth of her daughter and just two weeks after her move to Birmingham, T’nesheia’s right side suddenly went limp while she was in the shower.

“I just collapsed. I had no signs or symptoms beforehand - my right side was suddenly paralyzed, like a switch was turned off,” T’nesheia remembers. “I couldn’t move or talk at all.”

Luckily, when T’nesheia fell, her husband heard her from the next room. When she didn’t respond to his calls to check on her, he became worried and found her in the bathroom and called 9-1-1. Once the first responders arrived, T’nesheia was unable to answer any questions and she was rushed to Brookwood Baptist Medical Center’s Primary Stroke Center, where it was found that she had experienced a stroke caused by a blood clot in her brain.

“Once I got to the hospital, they gave me an MRI and the next thing I knew I was being rushed into the OR for emergency surgery. It happened so quickly and everyone was so calm that I didn’t even realize that I was having brain surgery at first.”

Dr. Jitendra Sharma, interventional neurologist and medical director of Brookwood Baptist Health’s Primary Stroke Center says, “It is incredibly important that anyone exhibiting any symptoms of a stroke get to the hospital quickly so that we have the highest chance of successfully helping them. There is a two-six hour window where we have the chance of totally reversing the stroke, and it is vital that patients come to us in that time frame. Luckily, T’nesheia was able to get to us quickly so we were able to help her.”

Thanks to the quick action of her husband, T’nesheia is now back at home with her family and recovering. She is slowly working on getting back to her normal life, and has minimal effects left from the stroke.

“The doctors and nurses were amazing and I’m so thankful for Dr. Sharma. Without them, I’m not sure what would have happened. It was so scary and I’m so thankful that my husband acted quickly and made sure that I got to the hospital,” said T’nesheia.

“This changed my life in ways that I couldn’t imagine. I look at life differently now. I am only 33, with a new baby and a two year old, and before this I was perfectly healthy. I thought that strokes happened when you were older, but this was an eye-opener. I want people to know that it can happen to anyone at any age, even if you are as young and healthy as I am.”

To remember the symptoms of a stroke, remember to BE FAST:
Balance: loss of balance or coordination, dizziness
Eyes: Blurry, double vision or loss of vision in one eye
Face: one side of the face droops
Arms: One arm drifts downwards when both are raised
Speech: slurred or strange speech
Time: if you observe any signs of stroke, call 9-1-1 immediately

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