Allegheny General Hospital (AGH), located on Pittsburgh’s Northside, received nationwide recognition this year for its progressive scientific stroke therapy methods and patient care.

By Sophia Mastroianni

Photo By Neil Strebig

The American Heart Association (AHA) /American Stroke Association (ASA) awarded AGH with a Stroke Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award this year as part of the annual Get With The Guidelines® – Stroke achievement award program.

The national Get With The Guidelines® – Stroke program strives to encourage ongoing care for stroke patients by implementing precise and cutting-edge guidelines for stroke treatment. AGH met the standards of the award through its dedication to offering astute care to patients suffering from cerebrovascular damage, or injury to the brain and its blood vessels.

“We are grateful for this national recognition by the AHA/ASA as it reflects the success we have achieved in building a stroke program that we believe offers the highest quality of care to those who suffer from this common and often fatal cerebrovascular injury,” said Dr. Ashis Tayal, M.D., Medical Director of the AGH Comprehensive Stroke Center.

AGH also received recognition from the AHA/ASA for its achievement in dissolving blood vessel clots in one hour or less in 75 percent or more of patients with acute ischemic strokes through the recently implemented cerebrovascular imaging software known as RAPID. Ischemic strokes occur when blood vessels to the brain become blocked or narrowed by a clot or mass, which restricts blood flow.

RAPID sends images of a patient’s brain to the mobile device of a physician to help efficiently determine treatment opportunities.

“RAPID provides the opportunity to get the patient to the right place and right treatment at the right time,” said Dr. Tayal. “With this advanced capability, we can more expeditiously determine the best course of treatment for patients and provide them with the best possible chance of recovering well from their injury.”

AGH was one of five Allegheny Health Network (AHN) hospitals to earn recognition by the AHA and ASA. AGH, Forbes, Jefferson, Saint Vincent and West Penn hospitals also received awards.