Stroke Center Quality & Safety

At UVA Health's Comprehensive Stroke Center, delivering the highest-quality healthcare to our patients is our top priority. Achieving our goals for safety and excellence means working continuously to improve the care we provide. Our teams meet regularly to evaluate and improve our care.

We believe you should have this information to help you make informed decisions about where to seek care.

Sharing information about the quality of care we provide and looking at lessons learned is an important part of developing a team focused on patient safety.

Initial Treatment After Stroke

Most strokes are ischemic. They happen when a thick clump of blood (blood clot) blocks a blood vessel and stops blood from reaching the brain. When blood flow is blocked from reaching brain tissue for long enough, it dies.

There are two types of treatment for ischemic stroke, thrombolytics and mechanical thrombectomy.

Tenecteplase (TNK) is a clot-busting (thrombolytic) medication that breaks up the blood clot.

Mechanical thrombectomy removes the blood clot with a mechanical device.

The earlier a patient receives these treatments, the more likely they are to survive and make a full recovery.

Before they give a patient TNK, stroke team members must complete several steps, including a neurological assessment, a CAT or CT scan of the brain, bloodwork, and more. Pharmacists have to prepare the medication.

Stroke team members work to complete these steps rapidly, so they can give patients TNK as early as possible.

We track the percentage of patients who receive this clot-busting drug within 30 minutes of arriving at our hospital and compare it to other hospitals like ours.

Percentage of Eligible Stroke Patients Who Received Clot-Busting Drug Within 30 Minutes

A higher number is better.

Additional CT imaging is completed to look at the brain’s blood vessels and determine if there is a clot that can be removed.

These patients are quickly taken to a procedure room where a provider inserts a catheter into an artery of the groin or wrist and guides it up to the clot to remove it.

We track the median time it takes to complete this procedure and compare it to other hospitals like ours.

Median Times of Eligible Stroke Patients Getting Thrombectomy After Arriving From an Outside Facility

A lower number is better.

Median Times of Eligible Stroke Patients Getting Thrombectomy After Arriving at Our Emergency Department

A lower number is better.

We also track the percentage of patients who achieve the return of blood flow (reperfusion) to the brain after thrombectomy and compare it to other hospitals like ours.

Percentage of Stroke Patients Who Achieve Reperfusion With Thrombectomy

A higher number is better.

Carotid endarterectomy is a surgery to remove plaque buildup from the carotid artery to help prevent another stroke. We measure the percentage of patients who don't have complications during or after this surgery.

Carotid Endarterectomy Patients Without Complications

A higher number is better.