Stroke Awareness Month is over, but....

Time is critical in treating stroke victims:

"Quite literally, the more time you waste or lose trying to treat a stroke, the more brain cells die," says Dr. Nasser Razack, director of neurosciences at Northside Hospital in St. Petersburg. "It's critically important that if you think you are having a stroke, or someone you know might be having a stroke, to dial 911 immediately and get help."

Time determines the treatment available to the estimated 780,000 Americans affected by stroke each year; one of the first questions doctors must answer when a patient arrives at a hospital emergency room is how much time has passed. It's especially critical as stroke remains the third leading cause of death in the country today, killing 187,000 people a year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says.