Oklahoma Stroke & Neurological Institute

Every 40 seconds, someone in the United States has a stroke, meaning the blood flowing into the person's brain has been cut off.

Every 4 minutes, one of those stroke victims dies from a lack of oxygen. Strokes rank as the fifth-leading cause of death nationally.

Of those who survive the episode, three-fourths of those patients will suffer some form of disability related to their speech, movement or memory.

They are staggering statistics, especially when you consider that 80 percent of strokes can be prevented.

All of that explains why Hillcrest Medical Center in midtown Tulsa houses the Oklahoma Stroke & Neurological Institute. The center was established to educate people on how to keep from becoming a stroke victim as well as treat those who need help overcoming a stroke.

Dr. Andre Fredieu, the institute's medical director, is an interventional neurologist. Dr. Fredieu's specialty brings together neurology (the science of the brain) and neurosurgery. This combination allows Dr. Fredieu to perform minimally invasive brain surgeries that can enter blood vessels from within the arteries to treat complex vascular conditions in a less invasive manner, including stent placement to restore proper blood flow.

In 85 percent of stroke cases, a blood vessel in the brain has been blocked (ischemic strokes). The other 15 percent (hemorrhagic strokes) relate to ruptured blood vessels in the brain. Dr. Fredieu can intervene and repair either problem.

"My skill set is one where I can treat all aspects of strokes and all aspects of neurological disease," Dr. Fredieu says.

Seek help immediately

Strokes can be treated, but it often depends on how quickly someone experiencing a stroke seeks medical help.

"The most important thing is to respond quickly," Dr. Fredieu says.

Medical professionals have developed an easy-to-remember acronym to help people recognize what those symptoms are. B-E-F-A-S-T-T stands for Balance issues, Eye movement/vision impairment, Face drooping, Arm weakness, Speech difficulty, Terrible headache and Time to call 9-1-1.

"Don't go to bed with these symptoms," Dr. Fredieu warns. "You would be surprised how many people say to themselves, 'maybe I'm just tired.'

"As soon as you have these symptoms, call 911. Don't drive yourself to seek medical help." Patients can get to the hospital faster by calling an ambulance, and every minute can count, Dr. Fredieu adds.

Reduce your risk factors

Of course, disease prevention is always better than medical treatment and a stroke is one of those conditions that can be easily avoided by most people, Dr. Fredieu says.

Here are a few of the risk factors that can be controlled:

Atrial Fibrillation. Patients with an irregular heartbeat are four to six times more likely to have a stroke due to poor blood flow.

High blood pressure. Patients with hypertension face four times the usual risk of having a stroke.

High cholesterol. This can double your chances of having a stroke.

Diabetes. Patients whose blood sugar levels are out of balance increase their risk factor of having a stroke by two to three times the normal rate.

Smoking. Using tobacco products can double your risk of a stroke.

Dr. Fredieu says people who have several of those risk factors can increase their likelihood of a stroke by 10 to 14 times.

The best way to reduce these risks are: take doctor-prescribed medicines as directed, visit your doctor regularly, stay physically and mentally active, and eat a healthy diet that includes fresh fruits and vegetables, lean meat and less sodium.

Dr. Fredieu lists four factors that people cannot control when it comes to stroke prevention: age, race, previous strokes and genes.

Getting this message out to the community is vital, and Dr. Fredieu is committed to doing his part to build a "multi-generation of health care advocates" by visiting schools and senior citizen centers in and around the region.

"We're very fortunate in the Tulsa area that we have three large hospital systems that can work together," he says, "and form good referral patterns with smaller hospitals in outlying areas."

His goal, Dr. Fredieu says, is to augment what primary care physicians are doing with their patients and not try to supplant those efforts.

Expanding the program

Something else that's important in the scope of preventing strokes and responding to patients who experience them is providing rehabilitative care afterward.

Dr. Fredieu cites the work being done at the Kaiser Rehabilitation Center is another one of the region's great assets in dealing with strokes.

"I think we are very fortunate to have Kaiser Rehab," he says. "They do a phenomenal job of getting those stroke patients back to where they can function with a large measure of independence. They are part of the continuum of care."

Kaiser is also part of the Hillcrest Medical Center in Tulsa.

Dr. Fredieu is excited about continuing to grow the Oklahoma Stroke & Neurological Institute that today employs a dedicated team of specially-trained nurses and health professionals within the 18-bed unit. The Oklahoma Stroke & Neurological Institute is certified as a Primary Stroke Center by DNV and was recognized by the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association with a Gold Level "Get with the Guidelines Award" in 2015.

"We are working to build a very far-reaching umbrella of neurological service here at Hillcrest," he says.