Cerebrovascular Disorders

The Northwestern Stroke Center provides state-of-the-art care to patients with stroke or at risk for having a stroke, does research into better ways to treat and prevent cerebrovascular disease, educates patients and lay-people about all aspects of stroke, and provides training and education to health-care professionals working in the field of cerebrovascular disease and related areas.

The field of stroke or cerebrovascular disease encompasses several entities, including transient ischemic attacks (TIAs, mini-strokes), actual strokes, diseases of blood vessels that can lead to a stroke (such as narrowing of the carotid artery or an aneurysm of a cerebral vessel), as well as heart diseases (atrial fibrillation or a heart attack, for example) which are major risk factors for a stroke. There are two major types of strokes: an ischemic stroke occurs when a blood vessel in or around the brain becomes occluded or blocked—this accounts for about 85% of all strokes; a hemorrhagic stroke occurs when a blood vessel in or around the brain ruptures.

The majority of the patient care at the Northwestern Stroke Center occurs at Northwestern Memorial Hospital (NMH), located close to North Michigan Avenue in downtown Chicago. The hospital has several unique resources to ensure excellence in the care of patients with an acute stroke, including a specialized Stroke Unit, a dedicated Neurosciences Intensive Care Unit, a Stroke Team, and specially trained physicians, nurses, therapists, and many others. NMH has been recognized as a Stroke Center by JCAHO, which certifies hospitals for specialized care.
Patients with very severe strokes are cared for in the Neurosciences ICU (NICU) by a multidisciplinary team of neurointensivits, anesthesiologists, neurologists, neurosurgeons, and other health-care professionals. The NICU has all of the necessary equipment, personnel, and protocols to care for all types of stroke patients, including those in need of brain surgery.

The main strength of our Stroke Center is our faculty. All of our faculty members have received special training in the care of patients with stroke and cerebrovascular disease, and all have extensive experience in this area. All are board-certified in Neurology, and most are also board-certified in Vascular Neurology. The Stroke Center is led by Mark J. Alberts, MD, who is Professor of Neurology and is board certified in Neurology and Vascular Neurology. Profiles of each faculty member an be found here.

We are able to treat our patients with all of the latest medications and tools, including tissue plasminogen activator (TPA) for acute ischemic stroke, mechanical clot removal, carotid endarterectomy, carotid stenting, coiling and clipping of intracranial aneurysms, and other interventions. We also are involved in the testing of new therapies to treat and prevent all types of strokes.

In addition to excellent patient care, the Stroke Center faculty is participating in a number of important clinical research studies to improve the acute care of patients with stroke, improve their outcomes, and find new methods to reduce the risk of having a stroke. The specific studies that we are doing change frequently as new results become available, so interested patients and families should contact the specific faculty who is doing research in a particular area of interest for them.

Another aspect of the Stroke Center is the out-patient Stroke Clinic, which is located in the Galter Pavillion directly adjacent to NMH. A faculty member of the Stroke Center attends a stroke clinic each day of the week. We typically see out-patients after they have been hospitalized with a stroke, as well as patients who ma have unusual types of strokes or be at high risk for a stroke. New patients should have a written referral to the Stroke Clinic by their primary care provider or their neurologist or neurosurgeon.