A nationwide program called Target: Stroke, started by the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association in 2010, has helped improve treatment for stroke patients across all races and ethnicities. However, a new study shows that there are still differences in the care received by different racial and ethnic groups.
Researchers from the Cleveland Clinic, led by Dr. Shumei Man, looked at data from over 1 million stroke patients treated at hospitals participating in the Target: Stroke program between 2003 and 2021. They found that the use of clot-busting treatment, which helps break down blood clots causing the stroke, increased from 10-15% in 2003 to 43-46% in 2021 for all racial and ethnic groups. However, the study also found that Asian, Black, and Hispanic patients were less likely to receive this treatment compared to White patients. These groups also had to wait longer to receive the treatment after arriving at the hospital.
The Target: Stroke program has helped improve how quickly patients receive treatment, with 66-72% of patients being treated within 60 minutes of arriving at the hospital in 2021, compared to only 26-28% in 2009. Despite this improvement, the differences in treatment between racial and ethnic groups still exist.The study’s findings show that while programs like Target: Stroke have helped improve stroke treatment overall, more work is needed to address the ongoing differences in care between racial and ethnic groups.
See “Quality initiative improves thrombolysis frequency, timeliness” by Elana Gotkine on the Medical Xpress website (February 12, 2024)
