Top Valley neurologists to examine 'state of stroke' in Arizona

Monday, May 22, 2006

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. - A first-of-its-kind meeting on stroke, the leading cause of long-term disability for patients in the U.S., will take place at 9 a.m. on Thursday, May 25, at the Halle Heart Center/American Heart Association in Tempe, Ariz.

The meeting is unique because it will be hosted by some of the Phoenix area's top neurologists who will examine the magnitude of stroke in Arizona, new treatments and strategies to improve patient outcomes. Each year, more than 700,000 Americans suffer a stroke - the third leading cause of death in the U.S.

"If Arizona wants to continue to lead the country in stroke care, it's important that we continue to monitor the impact of who is affected by stroke and how this affects the health of our state," says Timothy Ingall, M.D., neurologist with Mayo Clinic.

Dr. Ingall, as well as Bentley Bobrow, M.D.; Bart Demaerschalk, M.D.; Joseph Wood, M.D., all from Mayo Clinic, and Brett Meyer, M.D., from University of California at San Diego, will lead the meeting that is sponsored by the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, in cooperation with the Arizona Department of Health Services and the American Stroke Association. More than 100 emergency responders, nurses, physicians and hospital administrators are expected to attend.

Discussions will also explore how disproportionately stroke affects Hispanics. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Hispanics ages 35-64 are 1.3 times more likely to have a stroke than Caucasians in the same age group.

Mayo Clinic is a private group practice of medicine dedicated to providing diagnosis and treatment of patient illnesses through a systematic focus on individual patient needs. As a leading academic medical center in the Southwest, Mayo Clinic focuses on providing specialty and surgical care in more than 65 disciplines at its outpatient facility in north Scottsdale and at Mayo Clinic Hospital. The 208-licensed bed hospital is located at 56th Street and Mayo Boulevard (north of Bell Road) in northeast Phoenix, and provides inpatient care to support the medical and surgical specialties of the clinic, which is located at 134th Street and Shea Boulevard in Scottsdale.

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