Another study about clot-busting developments

Not long ago, researchers from Johns Hopkins University released a study about the use of an aggressive clot-busting treatment for stroke patients.

New results from a multicenter study led by Johns Hopkins show that patients who got an experimental clot-busting treatment for a particularly lethal form of stroke were not only dramatically more likely to survive but also continued to shed lingering disabilities six months later. The findings, announced Feb. 19 at the International Stroke Conference in San Diego, are likely to build support for the use of tissue plasminogen activator, or tPA, in patients with intracerebral hemorrhage, a treatment-resistant form of stroke marked by brain bleeding.

There's been some disagreement about tPA, so new studies are important to get some clear answers.

A note in passing...

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

-Philippians 4:6-7

It happened 11 years ago today. At least, that's when it happened to me.

On Friday, May 8, 1998, I found myself hit by a stroke working with a colleague who was smart enough to get me some help. The rest, as you might say, is history.

I was a devoted distance runner at the time and remain so. I will likely run 10 miles without stopping tomorrow (Saturday). Why do people run? Now, for me, it's an act of worship, thanking God that he gave me two strong legs - one of them twice.

This blog is my feeble attempt to provide help for fellow stroke survivors and those who care for them - in any capacity. I've prayed for those who have contacted me or I've heard about concerning their own circumstances or struggles. Anyone reading this can e-mail me anytime - jeff.porter@gmail.com - and you'll be in my prayers, too.

Do I completely understand what happened those 11 years ago? No. But as Paul wrote to the Philippians, God's peace surpasses understanding - leaving me under God's protection. It's there for you, too.

'Restore you and make you strong ...'

An incredible story in The York Daily Record, a story about a stroke survivor who lost speech but never lost faith:

Dan Kidd relied on his faith to help him adjust to his muteness and prayed to God that he would be healed. One Bible verse of particular comfort to him he found in I Peter: "And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast."

I won't say more to spoil the story - just click and read it. This video accompanied the article.

The next life saved could be yours

Success in stroke awareness can be counted in many ways, but saving a life is the best way to count. From a British newspaper (Halstead Gazette) about a man who - thanks to an alert friend - received the help he needed:

Mr. (Roger) Foreman, a former builder who lives in Greenstead, is now backing a three-year government stroke awareness campaign, which it is hoped will save 700 lives a year in Essex.

The adverts are shocking, but could help to save some of the 67,000 people in the UK who die as a result of suffering a stroke each year. He said: “The more awareness there is, the better. When I visited the stroke centre in Colchester, I was surprised how many people were there.

“Some are only in their 30s. When you’re that age, you think you’re bullet-proof. You would never dream in a million years that you could have a stroke.”

Some only in their 30s. That was my case back in 1998, and if history is a guide, it will happen multiple times today, just in the United States. Better stroke awareness, and more of the 300-plus people hit by a stroke every day in the U.S. will recover.

Fast food restaurants - a stroke risk factor

You've seen the neighborhoods - no grocery store of any size or at all, but a plethora of fast food restaurants.

In your gut, you know that can't be good. Now, there's some documentation to back up that feeling. Not long ago, some research linked that pattern with stroke risk:

Researchers zeroed in on a region of Texas, analyzed neighborhoods for the number of fast food restaurants, and found a 13% elevated risk of ischemic stroke in neighborhoods with the highest number of fast food restaurants. Ischemic strokes are caused by blood clots.

For every fast food restaurant in a designated neighborhood, the relative stroke risk increased 1%, according to research presented at the American Stroke Association’s International Stroke Conference 2009.

“The data show a true association,” says Lewis B. Morgenstern, MD, director of the University of Michigan’s stroke program and lead author of the study. “What we don’t know is whether fast food actually increased the risk because of its contents or whether fast food restaurants are a marker of unhealthy neighborhoods.”

An issue to consider during May, which is Stroke Awareness Month.

(Image from USDA)

'Trust in him'

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

-Romans 15:13

Paul's messages were often messages of hope. Some key words in this one: "as you trust in him." So trust can generate hope.

Trust him. And accept the overflow of hope.

(Image from www.heartlight.org)

Approaching your mid-40s or beyond? Watch out

As Stroke Awareness Month approaches, another article illustrating the need for awareness, Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association:

Rates of the most common form of stroke begin to increase sharply after age 44, particularly in men, researchers reported ... .

In a Finnish study of 1,008 ischemic stroke patients less than 50 years old, researchers also found:

• a high frequency of stroke risk factors in young patients;
• a high percentage of “silent” and multiple strokes;
• the pattern of stroke-causing events begins changing in midlife to resemble that of the elderly.

My stroke occurred at age 39 - and I suspect a pretty serious TIA about 10 years earlier. So do a favor for a friend: Remind them of stroke signs.

Take up the cross and follow

Then he said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it."

-Luke 9:23-24

Life would be easier, wouldn't it, if we didn't have to take up that cross?

Surprise answer: No! It would not.

As hard as this life's crosses are to bear, consider how bad it would be if you did not have the promise "whoever loses his life for me will save it." Fact of the matter is, we will all lose this life. Your choice: it will end with meaning or end without meaning.

The cross gives the meaning that, at the end of it all, counts.

(Photo by Jeff Porter in Seoul, South Korea)

Upcoming: Stroke Awareness Month

A recent article from US News and World Report shows the need for a stroke awareness campaign:

Fewer than two in five people surveyed knew all five warning signs and knew to call 911, the survey found. The results were to be presented ... at the International Stroke Conference in San Diego.

"We have to make sure that people know the signs and symptoms of stroke because the patient would need to get to the hospital as soon as possible to have a much higher chance of survival and avoiding potential disabilities," the survey's lead author, Dr. Jing Fang, an epidemiologist in the division for heart disease and stroke prevention at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, said in a news release issued by the American Stroke Association, which is sponsoring the conference.

This blog will include frequent stroke awareness messages in postings during May, which is Stroke Awareness Month.

He has risen!

On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, "Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen!"

-Luke 24:1-6

On this day, in this world - despite its pain, suffering and desperation - the word remains: He has risen!

On this, Resurrection Sunday, he remains risen, remains with us. He will remain with us tomorrow, next week, next year, into all generations. He comforts those afflicted. He is ready and waiting to comfort you.

Consider the open tomb - it wasn't open so Jesus could get out. Instead, it was open so that people could seen in, could literally see the good news. The tomb was empty. Death defeated.