The Vancouver Stroke Program (VSP) is pleased to announce the launch of vancouverstrokeprogram.com.  Serving as a portal to a wide range of information and resources, the VSP’s first website has something for just about everyone, including neurologists, medical students, Residents and prospective Fellows, as well as family physicians, patients and the general public.

Visit the VSP site and you’ll find information on:

• rounds
• clinical/research stroke fellowships
• research activities
• patient-friendly stroke information resources in multiple languages courtesy of the Heart & Stroke Foundation

Recruitment underway for clinical trials

The VSP is currently recruiting participants for 11 clinical trials and anticipates initiating two additional trials in the near future.

“The program has a long history as a recruiting site for clinical trials in acute stroke and secondary prevention,” says Dr. Sharan Mann, a VSP neurologist. “Many of these trials are large, North American initiatives involving multiple centres.”

Visit the site’s research activities page and physicians and patients will find a comprehensive listing of trials and the contact information to make a referral or express interest in participation.

Also available are links to publications on VSP-initiated research, including the largest clinical trial to date investigating Secondary Prevention of Small Subcortical Strokes, a study led by VSP’s Dr. Oscar Benavente. From 2009 to 2013, Dr. Benavente served as principal investigator of this multicentre international trial. To date, 28 peer-reviewed publications and more than 45 abstract presentations have been produced from the study’s database.

Because stroke is a medical emergency

Based at VGH, the VSP is a referral centre for patients with stroke and cerebrovascular concerns in B.C. The team’s seven neurologists with expertise in stroke provide highly specialized inpatient and outpatient care 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

“With a stroke, every minute counts,” says Dr. Mann. “A patient can lose up to two million brain cells every minute, so a delay in care can mean the difference between not talking or walking again.”

In addition to caring for patients in B.C.’s only dedicated Stroke Ward at VGH, VSP neurologists carry the VGH Stroke Pager 24/7 to respond to requests for emergent/urgent consultations and advice calls from physicians around the province. Over the course of the year, the team conducts more than 1,000 stroke consultations. Outpatients with a stroke-related concern are assessed at the VGH Stroke Prevention Clinic, where patients are seen on an expedited basis for medical evaluation and possible intervention.

To learn more about the Vancouver Stroke Program, visit vancouverstrokeprogram.com.