Is something right happening in health care?

Something right might be happening.

In catching up on stroke-related news of late, I was reminded about a story showing that emergency departments are seeing fewer strokes and TIAs:

The rate of adult emergency department (ED) visits for ischemic stroke or TIA fell 35%, from 40 to 26 per 10,000 persons from 2001 to 2011 in the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NHAMCS) data. The rates fell across age groups -- a relative 51% in the 55-to-74 range and 26% for those ages 75 and older, Anjali Talwalkar, MD, MPH, and Sayeedha Uddin, MD, MPH, both of the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics in Silver Spring, Md., reported in the March issue of NCHS Data Brief.

But among younger people who came to the ED for ischemic stroke or TIA, fewer were arriving by ambulance.

Strokes are generally preventable, with fairly common-sense diet, exercise and medication use leading those methods of prevention. I've put links under each of those categories, where you can read more about stroke prevention.

Stroke treatment is still vitally important, and improving stroke treatment through better medication, better therapy techniques and tools are key elements of stroke treatment. But preventing a stroke is the best treatment of all. So do what you can - the life you save could be your own.