Every 40 seconds, someone in the United States has a stroke. Nearly two million brain cells die each minute a stroke goes untreated. Stroke is the fifth most common cause of death in America, and the leading cause of adult disability. The longer the brain goes without blood supply and oxygen, the higher likelihood of disability.

• Stroke was the fourth leading cause of death in Pennsylvania in 2019. Stroke mortality rates were nearly 10% higher than the national average in 2017.

Brain Awareness Week is March 14 to 20, and stroke is the leading cause of brain-related deaths in the U.S.

Emergency medical technicians can accurately diagnose stroke using stroke severity scales, but even patients correctly diagnosed by EMTs are most often triaged to the nearest hospital where they can wait for care while the brain dies.

Like in cases of traumatic injury, where patients are assessed in the field, and the critically injured are transported to Level 1 trauma centers, the Get Ahead of Stroke Campaign is working to ensure that patients with severe stroke are taken to a Level 1 stroke center.

At these Level 1 stroke centers, a specially-trained care team can perform a lifesaving procedure called mechanical thrombectomy to safely and quickly restore blood flow to the brain.

In the summer of 2021, Get Ahead of Stroke began working with Pennsylvania policymakers to improve the triage and transport protocols for severe stroke patients.

Changing protocols for triage and transport of Pennsylvania stroke patients will improve stroke systems of care, ultimately making it possible for thousands more people to survive stroke every year.

Brain Awareness Week provides a great opportunity for everyone to call up their legislators, share their unique stories and perspectives to help educate our lawmakers on the importance of stroke care in saving more lives.

Get Ahead of Stroke is a national public education and advocacy campaign designed to improve systems of care for stroke patients. Founded in 2016 by the Society of NeuroInterventional Surgery (SNIS), today the campaign is supported by a coalition of organizations with the goal of securing the best possible outcomes for stroke patients by driving policy change and public awareness nationwide.