The DAWN of a New Era for Stroke Patients
New stroke protocol at Hartford Hospital means extended window for acute treatment for ischemic stroke patients, less disability and better outcomes
There was a time when the therapeutic window for an acute stroke caused by a blood clot to the brain - an ischemic stroke - was just six hours.
But results of a groundbreaking study called DAWN - released in the New England Journal of Medicine in November 2017 - have increased the window for acute treatment of ischemic strokes up to 24 hours in select patients.
As a result, Hartford HealthCare has adopted the DAWN protocols, where patients are screened using advanced image processing technology known as RAPID CT Perfusion, which pinpoints the area of damage caused by an ischemic stroke, locates salvable areas of brain tissue, and can establish a timeline for when the stroke occurred.
RAPID CT Perfusion is available at: