From an interview with
Dr. Basil Shah
McLeod Interventional Neuroradiologist

Here is a summary of Dr. Shah’s comments:

My subspecialty is a bit unusual; I’m an ‘Interventional Neuroradiologist.’ One of the procedures I perform is a thrombectomy, which involves a combination of minimally-invasive techniques using x-rays to treat patients who suffer stroke. 

There are two types of strokes: an ischemic stroke is where the blood supply has been cut off to the brain, and a hemorrhagic stroke, where there is bleeding inside the head because of the rupture of a blood vessel. The common condition that leads to a brain bleed is the rupture of an aneurysm.

We can access these blood vessels through the large artery in either the leg or the arm. Then we can use a catheter, which is a very fine tube, to go right through the arteries to the spot where that rupture or blockage has taken place. We can treat it accordingly.

The brain is the most sensitive organ in the body, and it cannot tolerate the lack of blood flow or oxygen supply for more than a couple of minutes. So depending on the circumstances, the damage would be assessed, but restoration of the blood flow is the gold standard.

Did you know?

• Stroke ranks as the #5 leading cause of death in South Carolina.
• Stroke is the leading cause of adult disability in the U.S.
• In 2014, McLeod Regional Medical Center became the first hospital in the region to become certified as a Primary Stroke Center.
• You can test your stroke knowledge here.