Stroke Patients Admitted on Weekends More Likely to Die

Ivanhoe Newswire
Friday, March 9, 2007; 12:00 AM

(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Patients who go to the hospital to get treated for a stroke on the weekends may be more likely to die than those admitted during the week.

Canadian researchers looked at what is known as the "weekend effect" in 26,676 stroke patients admitted to 606 hospitals. They focused on the most common type of stroke --ischemic strokes -- which occur when a blood clot blocks blood flow in an artery that leads to the brain.

Results reveal patients admitted to the hospital on the weekend had a 14-percent higher risk of dying within seven days than those admitted during the week. There was also a higher risk of death if patients went to a rural hospital compared to an urban one, and when the doctor in charge was a general practitioner instead of a specialist.

Researchers say the differences in resources, expertise and health care providers may explain their findings. However, study authors still stress the importance of getting immediate care, no matter what day of the week it is.

"Time is brain, so the sooner the patient seeks medical attention, the higher the chance of better outcome, no matter the day, time or living area," says lead author Gustavo Saposnik, M.D., M.Sc., of the University of Toronto in Canada.

According to the American Heart Association, anyone who displays stroke symptoms like sudden difficulty speaking or understanding, weakness or numbness affecting an arm or leg, or inexplicable difficulty walking needs to get medical care right away.

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SOURCE: Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association, published online March 8, 2007