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Stroke Care

Overview

During and after a stroke – a medical emergency – get advanced care from Ballad Health.

Our experts in Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia respond quickly to restore the flow of blood and oxygen to your brain, and then journey with you as you work toward a successful recovery.

Ballad Health can also treat conditions to reduce your chance of experiencing a stroke. These conditions can include brain aneurysms and atherosclerosis.

For more information, please call 833-8-BALLAD or talk to your doctor.

Conditions we treat

Rely on us to diagnose and treat:

  • Ischemic stroke
  • Hemorrhagic stroke
  • Transient ischemic attack
  • Brain aneurysms
  • Atherosclerotic disease
  • Arteriovenous malformations

Learn how to recognize stroke symptoms so you know when to call 911.

Services & treatments

No matter what type of stroke you experience, rest assured that our expert staff will provide timely stroke treatment. Through Ballad Health, you get access to the region’s only fellowship-trained neuroendovascular surgeons who perform minimally invasive stroke treatments that could save your life.

To improve your long-term outcome, partner with us throughout recovery and rehabilitation.

Recognized high-quality care

You can trust the quality of Ballad Health’s stroke care because the following hospitals earned American Heart Association/American Stroke Association/The Joint Commission certification as a Primary Stroke Center:

The certification means you can expect to:

  • Get the right treatment at the right time
  • Receive care tailored to your needs
  • Learn how to help care for yourself and make medical decisions
  • Work with medical experts
  • Receive coordinated follow-up care after leaving the hospital
  • Have your rights, security and privacy protected

Our region-wide stroke network helps ensure that no matter which Ballad Health hospital first treats your stroke symptoms, you’ll have fast access to the latest stroke treatments and rapid transfer to a hospital that can provide a higher level of care, if needed.

Top hospitals in Tennessee

CareChex® rated Bristol Regional and Johnson City Medical Center in the top 10 percent of Tennessee hospitals in 2017 for medical excellence in stroke care. So you can feel especially confident that you’ll stay safe and be satisfied with your care at our hospitals.

Holston Valley Medical Center has been rated #1 in the Nation in Interventional Carotid Care by Carechex for two consecutive years. Interventional carotid care is used to treat blockages in the carotid arteries that reduce blood flow to the brain and can lead to transient ischemic attacks or mini strokes.

Stroke team focused on you

Stroke impacts your health in more than one way, so you’ll get care from a variety of medical experts, such as:

  • Neurologists and neurosurgeons – Doctors who treat the brain
  • Neurointerventionalists – Doctors who can use tiny tools to remove clots from the brain, or stop bleeding in the brain without major surgery
  • Neuroradiologist – Doctor who uses images to diagnose a problem in the brain
  • Interventional cardiologists and cardiovascular surgeons – Doctors who perform procedures such as carotid stenting or carotid endarterectomy to open the carotid artery and remove the plaque buildup
  • Intensivist – Critical care doctor
  • Nurses certified in stroke care
  • Pharmacist – Prepares and provides medicines your doctor ordered
  • Physical therapist – Teaches exercises and stretches that can make you stronger and more flexible
  • Occupational therapist – Shows you how to more easily do daily tasks, sometimes with special tools or equipment
  • Speech-language pathologist – Helps you talk or swallow better
  • Dietitian – Explains what foods you should eat to get healthier
  • Social worker/case manager – Helps coordinate your care during and after your hospital stay
  • Your primary care provider

What you need to know about stroke – patient guides

What is a Stroke? [PDF - opens in new window]

Saving a Minute May Save a Day [PDF - opens in new window]

Helpful links

To learn more about stroke, please visit any of these resources: