UPMC St. Margaret Stroke Program

According to the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association, stroke is one of the leading causes of death and serious, long-term disability in the United States. A stroke occurs when the blood supply to part of your brain is interrupted or severely reduced, depriving brain tissue of oxygen and food.

Prompt treatment is crucial to minimize brain damage and potential complications.

Why Choose the UPMC St. Margaret Stroke Program?

UPMC St. Margaret Stroke Program was named an Advanced Primary Stroke Center by The Joint Commission. As a Primary Stroke Center, UPMC St. Margaret offers its patients the following benefits:

• An acute stroke team available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, which includes physicians and nurses experienced in diagnosing and treating cerebrovascular disease
• Written protocols to streamline and accelerate the diagnosis and treatment of stroke patients
• Coordination of emergency medical service personnel with emergency department staff
• A stroke unit with specialized monitors and nursing care
• Inpatient rehabilitation services for physical, occupational, and speech therapies
• An outcome and quality improvement program
• Education program for the professional staff
• Patient and family education on stroke recovery

The hospital also received the Get With The Guidelines®-Stroke Gold Plus Achievement Award from the American Heart Association (AHA)/American Stroke Association (ASA). Hospitals receiving Get With The Guidelines Gold Plus Achievement Award have reached an aggressive goal of treating stroke patients with 85% or higher compliance to core standard levels of care as outlined by the AHA/ASA for 12 consecutive months. In addition, those hospitals have demonstrated 75% compliance to 7 out of 10 stroke quality measures during the 12-month period.

UPMC Stroke Telemedicine Program

Physicians at UPMC St. Margaret have 24-hour-a-day access to specialists at the UPMC Stroke Institute in Pittsburgh in order to bring a higher level of stroke treatment and care to their patients.

Our Multidisciplinary Team

At UPMC St. Margaret, specialists in emergency medicine, vascular neurology, physical medicine and rehabilitation, and other subspecialties, work together to diagnose and determine the most appropriate stroke treatment.

Our team of experts use advance therapies to treat stroke with the goal of restoring cognitive and physical function.

Learn More About Strokes

Visit UPMC's Stroke Institute website to learn more about the causes, risk factors, and warning signs of strokes.

• Causes of stroke
• Know your risk factors
• The warnings signs of stroke

UPMC Patient Education Materials

• Stroke: Emergency Treatment
• Stroke: Medical Treatment
• Stroke: Warning Signs
• Stroke: Risk Factors
• Stroke: Transient Ischemic Attack (TIA) Facts
• Stroke and TIA: Finding a Cause