Feb 16, 2008 8:59 pm US/Central
U of M Doctors Preventing Strokes In A New Way
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. (WCCO) ―
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Dr. Qureshi recommended angioplasty, something usually associated with cardiac blockages.
CBS
Doctors at the University of Minnesota are stopping strokes before they can happen.
It's a newer procedure based on a common treatment for heart attacks. The life saving technique is bringing patients from all over to the Twin Cities. For the first time in a while, Richard Jordan feels hopeful about the future. He'd been battling what are called mini-strokes.
"I'd get real dizzy, I had to hold onto the wall or TV or something," said Jordan during a check-up at the U of M's Neurology clinic.
His doctors in West Virginia didn't give Jordan much hope. They said he was headed for a massive stroke and told his family to brace for the worst.
"They said he could come home and die or be a vegetable," said the patient's wife, Helen Jordan.
The Jordans kept pushing and re-connected with Dr. Adnan Qureshi at the U of M. Qureshi had treated Jordan a few years ago in Buffalo. The specialist moved to Minnesota to be part of the University's Stroke Center, which opened in late 2006.
Dr. Qureshi recommended angioplasty, something usually associated with cardiac blockages.
"The concern was he that actually had a pretty severe blockage in one of the major blood vessels that supplies blood to the back part of his brain," said Qureshi.
Dr. Qureshi inserted a tiny catheter into the blocked blood vessel, inflated a balloon at the tip and stretched the vessel open. Jordan stayed awake for the entire procedure.
"It was very scary, you know, there's a lot of thoughts go through your mind," said Jordan.
But now, just a couple of days later he's ready to go home and there's just a small chance he'll ever deal with a blockage again. Luckily, they caught it before damage could set in.
"Lots of time I've noticed is that patients don't pay enough attention to that because the symptoms are transient and resolved by themselves," said Qureshi.
Jordan is thankful he found the right doctor at the right time.
The U of M has one of the largest stroke specialty centers in the country. Doctors perform three to four of them a week.
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