Stroke

As the leading cause of disability in the United States, stroke affects people of all ages. Whether the patient is a 39-year-old mother of four, or a 72-year-old grandmother of eight, stroke can have an effect on thinking, balance, memory, and communication abilities.

Patients and their families are at the center of stroke treatment at the UPMC Institute for Rehabilitation and Research (IRR). Family members provide important information about the patient, and participate in therapy and support programs. The length of time a patient will spend in rehabilitation depends on the individual patient, the severity of the stroke, and specific rehabilitation needs.

The IRR offers a continuum of care, providing the right treatment at the right time for every stroke patient young or old. Recovering from a stroke doesn’t always stop after a few months of rehabilitation. UPMC’s IRR designs a unique rehabilitation program to meet the short- or long-term rehabilitation needs of each patient.

Stroke research at the IRR focuses on symptoms commonly seen in patients. This is a great benefit to patients because our research has enabled us to develop new treatments for many symptoms such as spasticity, learned non-use, and shoulder/hand syndrome.