A New Hope for Treating Strokes

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Last Updated on June 11, 2021

AVIV logo This post is sponsored by Aviv

May is National Stroke Awareness Month, but prevention and treatments should be a year-long, 24/7 focus. 

Statistics show that 75 percent of all stroke patients are over the age of 65— and the risk of having a stroke more than doubles each decade after the age of 55. Strokes are the leading cause of long-term disability in the United States, and any new therapies for post-stroke patients are particularly welcome. 

Look no further than Central Florida for another innovative form of relief. 

Aviv Clinics offers a unique protocol of hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) for post-stroke patients that was proven to help in some cases even years after the stroke.

A specific use of hyperbaric oxygen therapy can potentially impact positively brain rehabilitation in some cases of patients suffering from post-stroke disabilities. The unique HBOT protocol from Aviv, that contains both HBOT sessions and other physical and cognitive rehabilitation treatments, is the only scientifically proven medical treatment in North America shown to improve and restore cognitive function, such as memory, attention, speed of information processing and some physical functions such as gait, stamina, power, motion, with the help of special physiotherapy and physical exercises plans. 

The Aviv Medical Program — based on over a decade of research and development — was created by the Aviv team under the scientific leadership of Dr. Shai Efrati, MD. 

Beyond the benefits of treatments for stroke patients, the treatments offered at Aviv Clinics can reverse cognitive deficiencies for healthy aging people who cognitively deteriorate as part of the aging process.  

The benefits of HBOT treatments for stroke patients were documented in an article published in the peer-reviewed journal, PLOS One, dating back to 2013. 

All the patients who were exposed to 40 HBOT sessions over two months demonstrated dramatic improvement in neurological functions and abilities, leading to improved quality of life. 

Those improvements included restoration of speech, ability to write or read, and renovation of motor function of a paretic limb. And even in patients with less dramatic results, basic life tasks, such as bathing and dressing, became possible unaided by the end of the treatment period. 

The study notes that “increasing the plasma oxygen concentration with hyperbaric oxygenation is a potent means of delivering to the brain sufficient oxygen for tissue repair.” 

Keep in mind that 87 percent of strokes are ischemic, meaning that one of the blood vessels carrying blood to the brain experiences a blockage. It is called ischemic because it causes “ischemia,” or a restriction of blood supply to the tissue affected. It could result in paralysis, sensory impairments, speech difficulties, visual deficits as well as cognitive dysfunction. 

A weakened blood vessel that ruptures and bleeds into the surrounding brain is called a hemorrhagic stroke, and it occurs in about 13 percent of stroke cases, according to the American Stroke Association. High blood pressure and trauma are the most common causes of these types of strokes. Hemorrhagic strokes are often life-threatening, so learning the common symptoms is important in order to seek immediate medical treatment.  

As always, the best medicine is preventative medicine. Here are some important tips focused on stroke prevention: 

● Monitor your blood pressure, and if necessary, take steps control it. 

● Develop good eating habits and combine that with a healthy lifestyle centered on exercise and proper rest. 

● Don’t smoke or stop if you are a smoker. 

● Monitor your weight and lose weight if necessary. 

To learn if the Aviv Medical Program can you help you, contact the clinic at (352) 488-2848 or [email protected]

Learn more about this topic in Growing Bolder Founder and CEO Marc Middleton’s recent in-depth conversation with Mohammed Elamir, MD, board-certified physician at Aviv Clinics. They discussed the importance of lifestyle improvements and what hyperbaric oxygen therapy treatment can mean for our futures. 

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