Table of contents:
- Call an ambulance or take it to the hospital right away?
- Why do you have to use an ambulance?
- 1. It's quicker to get to the hospital
- 2. Ambulance facilities are more complete
- 3. Provide first-line stroke medication
- 4. Make sure the patient gets to the right hospital
Finding a family member having a stroke certainly makes you panic and nervous. Without thinking, you may immediately want to take him to the hospital so that he can be treated immediately. However, your other sibling suggested calling an ambulance immediately. So, which steps should be taken as the quickest and least risky stroke treatment, go to the hospital or call an ambulance, huh? Find out the answer through the following reviews.
Call an ambulance or take it to the hospital right away?
Stroke can happen to anyone, anytime. This disease can occur when blood flow to the brain is blocked so that brain cells can die in just a few minutes. That is why a stroke is also often referred to as a brain attack.
When a family member develops the initial stroke symptoms, maybe what you have in mind is only the fastest way so that the patient can get to the hospital immediately. For this reason, you may choose to take him directly to the hospital by driving your own car or ask someone else to help you with him.
Bringing stroke patients directly to the hospital is indeed the most important stroke treatment. However, if you do it yourself, this method is actually prohibited because it can endanger the health of stroke patients.
Despite its good intentions, bringing stroke patients directly to the hospital can increase the patient's risk of disability and death. The most appropriate stroke handling is precisely with call an ambulance as soon as possible.
Why do you have to use an ambulance?
Source: CBC News
Stroke is a time-dependent medical emergency. The more time is wasted, the greater the risk of brain damage to the patient.
Without proper stroke treatment, the symptoms of stroke in the form of weakness in one part of the body on the face, hands and feet will be difficult to return to normal. Over time, this condition can cause permanent damage and even threaten the patient's life.
There are four main reasons why the most important stroke handler is to call an ambulance, not take the patient directly to the hospital.
1. It's quicker to get to the hospital
You may think you can get to the hospital sooner if you drive yourself. In fact, no matter how fast you get to the hospital, it will be for nothing if stroke patients don't get first aid while on the trip.
You also can't predict the traffic jams that will hinder your journey. Meanwhile, ambulances have special sirens that can signal other drivers to open roads. With an ambulance, stroke patients are guaranteed to get to the hospital faster.
2. Ambulance facilities are more complete
Ambulances certainly provide more complete facilities as first aid for stroke patients. As a first step, the ambulance team will monitor the patient's stroke symptoms while on the trip.
Furthermore, the team will monitor the patient's heart rate and blood pressure and ensure it remains normal. Together with stroke specialists, the ambulance team can even perform blood tests and CT scan in the patient in the ambulance (in some ambulances).
Last but not least, the ambulance team will continue to communicate with the hospital so that the medical team knows that stroke patients will arrive in the near future. This makes it easier for the hospital to prepare all the equipment and medicines needed by the patient.
3. Provide first-line stroke medication
Every minute wasted costs a stroke patient nearly two million brain cells. This means that every minute needs to be kept as much as possible so that the patient's life can be saved.
That is why you should immediately call an ambulance when a family member has had a stroke. Stroke patients will be given first-line stroke medications, such as alteplase, to help break down clots that are blocking the brain. This drug is very useful for preventing long-term disability and reducing the risk of death in patients.
However, this stroke drug should only be given three hours after the stroke appears. So, this is where the ambulance team plays a role in asking a number of questions to patients, one of which is about when the stroke symptoms first appeared.
A cerebrovascular specialist from Cleveland Clinic, Zeshaun Khawaja, MD, MBA revealed that this process can save a patient's life much more than if you take him to the hospital alone.
4. Make sure the patient gets to the right hospital
When you are about to go to the hospital alone, you may not know for sure which hospital provides complete stroke management facilities. Again, it's important that you take the patient in an ambulance, rather than driving your own car to the hospital.
With the help of an ambulance, stroke patients will be taken to a hospital that has complete facilities to treat stroke. The sooner the patient is treated early in the ambulance, the greater the chance for the patient to avoid the risk of long-term disability due to stroke.
Immediately call 118 or 119 to call an ambulance. Meanwhile, for DKI Jakarta Province, you can call 021-65303118 as soon as possible if you need an ambulance service.
