VCU Health – A Comprehensive Stroke Center

To contact Stroke Services

If this is an emergency, call 911.  

Comprehensive Stroke Expertise

VCU Health is a leader in stroke care, education and research and the first certified Comprehensive Stroke Center in Virginia. More than one-third of stroke patients admitted to VCU Medical Center are transferred from other hospitals. This reflects our depth of expertise and leading-edge care. The hallmark of VCU Health Comprehensive Stroke Center is providing advanced care for both routine and complex stroke patients, including:

• Cerebral aneurysm
• Extracranial and intracranial cerebrovascular disease
• Intracerebral hemorrhage
• Ischemic stroke
• Subarachnoid hemorrhage

What Sets Our Stroke Care Apart from Others?  

Leading-edge Technology

VCU Health uses an innovative hybrid operating room endovascular suite, a unique hybrid operating room that allows for the use of traditional neurosurgical techniques in combination with endovascular (minimally invasive) treatments. This advanced suite utilizes cutting-edge imaging technology for improved outcomes. In addition, our Neuroscience Intensive Care Unit is located in the Critical Care Hospital so patients receive the highest level of care.

• Advanced neuro imaging, multimodal CT perfusion and angiography in evaluation
• First in Virginia to use liquid copolymer in treatment of cerebral aneurysm.

Rehabilitation

In addition to expertise for stroke treatment, our team provides outstanding rehabilitative services for patients that need comprehensive rehabilitation for any physical effects from stroke. Through our physical medicine and rehabilitation department, our board-certified physician specialists, also known as physiatrists, lead a team of skilled and credentialed therapists and speech pathologists to improve outcomes through a comprehensive recovery plan.

Education

Residency and Fellowship Programs
As part of an academic medical center, we offer residency and fellowship programs. These comprehensive programs offers training in adult and pediatrics, stroke neuroimaging, neuro critical care, acute stroke evaluation and assessment for stroke intervention and an outpatient stroke prevention clinic.

Continuing Medical Education, VCU Comprehensive Stroke Symposium
The VCU Annual Comprehensive Stroke Symposium, offered by VCU Health Continuing Medical Education, features noted faculty and experts in the field. As an academic tertiary referral center, VCU cares for complex stroke patients, pediatrics to adults, throughout the continuum of care from emergency care to in-patient rehabilitation and out-patient stroke clinics. This one-day conference will focus on customizing stroke patient care for the individual needs of different populations, treating fever for better outcomes, optimizing management of carotid artery disease and providing patient-centered resources and tools to enhance transition of care.

Research

We continue to be a leader in stroke education and research, with National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Institutes of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) and industry-sponsored grants. Our expert team doesn’t just treat your stroke, we find out why the stroke occurred. Our goal is to eliminate risk factors we can control to diminish the risk of another stroke. Additionally, some of our patients participate in the latest clinical trials as we discover groundbreaking new ideas and innovative treatments to reduce the risk of stroke. Past and current clinical stroke studies include:

• New transdermal pro-drug with potential anti-inflammatory impact in acute ischemic stroke
• Newer treatments for cerebral aneurysm, vasospasm in subarachnoid hemorrhage and minimally invasive neurosurgery plus IV-TPA in intracerebral hemorrhage
• Pre-hospital ambulance stroke evaluation by telemedicine
• Treatment of embolic stroke of unknown source (ESUS)
• Virginia Women’s Stroke Prevention Initiative