Stroke Care & Stroke Treatment Services

Our Stroke Team is On-Call & Ready to Act Fast

Stroke Program: 626-898-8861

USC Arcadia Hospital is a DNV GL certified Comprehensive Stroke Center that offers many treatment options for the care of patient with acute stroke. Our program has achieved vast recognition for the excellent outcomes and care of our stroke patients. USC Arcadia Hospital is also currently designated by Los Angeles County Emergency Medical Services as one of 21 Comprehensive Stroke Centers serving the region.

Our multidisciplinary Stroke Team comprised of Neurologists, Neurosurgeons, Interventional-Radiologists, Neuro-Interventionalists, Critical Care Intensivists, Emergency Physicians, Radiologist, Pharmacists, Nurses, and support staff are ready to care for you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Our program offers many educational resources, an outpatient Stroke Support Group, and top of the line tools including a new Biplane for Neuro-Intervention.

Our Neuro-Interventionalists are ready to serve you with various treatment options for acute ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke, and in the detection and prevention of stroke. We utilize minimally invasive emergency procedures that do not require long prep time and drastically improve the patient outcomes by reducing mortality and morbidity. Our Neurologists and Interventionalists are Board Certified and have vast experience in performing mechanical thrombectomy, brain diagnostic angiography, clot extractions in stroke patients, coiling for aneurysms, tumor embolization’s, and vascular stenting.

The first few minutes of a stroke are the most important, and when you or someone you love is having a stroke, you cannot afford to hesitate. Stroke is the fifth leading cause of death in the United States. The Methodist Hospital Comprehensive Stroke Program provides the people of LA County a highly-skilled team of stroke experts to ensure every minute counts.

Signs & Symptoms of Stroke and TIA

Stroke has many signs and symptoms. The symptoms are usually sudden. The most common ones are:

Confusion
Facial droop
Blurred or double vision
One-sided weakness
One-sided numbness
Severe headache
Slurred speech, incomprehensible speech
Trouble walking
Dizziness

Call 911 immediately if you experience any of these symptoms.

Recovering from a Stroke

Numerous studies have shown that a dedicated stroke center provides a higher level of care to patients and increases their chances of recovery and rehabilitation.

Recovery from stroke may sometimes be a lifelong process. With this in mind, USC Arcadia Hospital stroke specialists are here to support you during the diagnosis, treatment, and recovery process. Whether you or your loved one just had a stroke or are at high risk for developing one, we are here to help you understand your condition and help you take action to reduce your chances of having another stroke in the future. Understanding your condition and how to manage it can increase your confidence in making changes to improve and maintain your health.

Stroke Program Milestones and Successes

The USC Arcadia Hospital multidisciplinary Stroke Team is committed to delivering quality care according to nationally recognized clinical care process improvement guidelines. By complying with these processes, USC Arcadia Hospital improves outcomes for patients treated in our hospital and helps to reduce patients' risks for another adverse event requiring emergency care or hospitalization.

We are proud to report that our compliance rates are at or above the national safety standard and meet or exceed the American Heart Association / American Stroke Association's "Get with the Guidelines" performance targets.

Our Stroke Program has achieved many program milestones and successes during the past decade. USC Arcadia Hospital’s commitment to providing quality care by implementing a higher standard of stroke care, according to evidence-based guidelines, is reflected in several awards granted by the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association.

USC Arcadia Hospital has achieved 85 percent or higher adherence to all Get With The Guidelines Stroke Performance Achievement indicators for nine consecutive years. The hospital has achieved 75 percent or higher compliance with 8 of 8 Get With The Guidelines Stroke Quality Measures, which are designed to improve the quality of patient care and outcomes. The Target Stroke Elite Plus award reflects the institution's achievement of treating 85 percent of stroke patients with a clot-busting drug within 60 minutes of arrival and meeting all stroke performance metrics. Methodist Hospitals' tPA door to treatment average was 29.5 minutes in 2021.

Our Quality Statistics

These metrics provide information about important aspects of hospital care that affect patients’ outcomes such as prevention of and response to complications, emphasis on patient safety, and the timeliness of care.

Compliance with the American Heart Association's "Get with the Guidelines" performance measures at or above 85 percent: better than the national benchmark.
Serious complication rates for diagnostic angiograms are less than 1 percent: better than the national benchmark.
Survival rates for stroke patients are above the national average.
Stroke Treatment Process Measures

The USC Arcadia Hospital Stroke Team closely monitors compliance with processes of care as endorsed by The Joint Commission and the American Heart Association in order to provide consistent care across all stroke care measures and achieve quality outcomes. Hospitals are asked to achieve 85% compliance in all of the measures below in order to meet the award recognition criteria. USC Arcadia Hospital exceeds the requirements in all of these areas:

Percentage of Stroke Patients who received VTE prophylaxis 99%
Percentage of Stroke Patients Discharged on Antithrombotics: 99%
Percentage of Stroke Patients with Atrial Fibrillation discharged on Anticoagulation Therapy: 100%
Percentage of Stroke Patients for whom Tissue Plasminogen Activator (t-PA) was given within the treatment window 100%
Percentage of Stroke Patients Receiving Antithrombotic Medication within 48 Hours of Hospitalization: 98%
Percentage of Stroke Patients Screened for Dysphagia: 97%
Percentage of Stroke Patients who received Stroke Education: 100%
Percentage of Stroke Patients for whom a Plan for Rehabilitation was Considered: 100%

Our Stroke Program Meets and Exceeds Clinical Practice Guidelines for Administration of IV Alteplase (tPA)

Clinical practice guidelines recommend that hospitals administer a type of clot-busting medicine called tPA (Tissue Plasminogen Activator) to eligible ischemic stroke patients within 60 minutes or less of arrival.

USC Arcadia Hospital has been recognized by the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association (AHA/ASA) for successfully administering thrombolytic therapy (tPA) within 60 minutes in 100 percent or more of eligible acute ischemic stroke patients. The USC Arcadia Hospital stroke program received the Target: Stroke Elite Plus Honor Roll and the Target: Stroke Elite Honor Roll awards in 2017, 2018, and 2019 for meeting and exceeding established AHA/ASA guidelines. In 2021, the stroke program will receive the Target Stroke Gold Plus Honor Roll for Stroke and Type 2 Diabetes for the consecutive year.

Successfully Treating Ischemic Strokes with Endovascular Procedures

Ischemic strokes are caused by a blockage in one of the arteries that supply blood to the brain. Patients with evidence of a blockage in one of the major blood vessels in their brain, who present within 24 hours from the onset of their stroke, can be treated with a catheter-based approach. The clot is captured and removed from the artery with the catheter. This endovascular treatment immediately restores blood flow.

Many hospitals use a scale called thrombolysis in cerebral infarction (TICI) to evaluate the success of endovascular treatments. The more open a blood vessel is following treatment, the more easily blood can flow through it.

In 2015, the Endovascular Stroke Standards Committee of the Society of Vascular and Interventional Neurology established the following national benchmark for hospitals: At least 50 percent of ischemic stroke patients who undergo endovascular treatment must achieve a TICI grade of “2b” or higher. This means the vessel completely fills with blood, even though the rate of blood flow may be slower than normal. USC Arcadia Hospital exceeded this goal, achieving TICI scores of 2b or higher among 94 percent of patients treated with endovascular procedures.