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Cardiovascular Health

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Cardiovascular Health

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Learn More

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  • About High Cholesterol
  • About Stroke

Related Topics

  • Chronic Conditions
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  • Nutrition
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Contact Info
Cardiovascular Health Program
health.heart@state.mn.us
health.stroke@state.mn.us

Contact Info

Cardiovascular Health Program
health.heart@state.mn.us
health.stroke@state.mn.us

Cardiovascular Health Indicator
Measure: Door-to-Needle within 60 minutes

Indicator Date of Most Recent Measure Current Measure Trend
Percent of stroke patients receiving IV-Thrombolytics within 60 minutes of arrival 2020 77.6% Improving
 
  • Overview
  • Analysis
  • Other Resources
  • Data Source & Definitions
 

Overview

  • A stroke is a medical emergency. If diagnosed quickly, there are treatment options to help patients recover. Many patients with ischemic stroke can benefit from clot-busting medicine (thrombolytic drugs) that help to break up the blood clot in the brain. The more quickly the treatment is given through an injection into the vein (also called an IV), the better it can help to reduce the damage caused by a stroke.
  • In 2018, almost three-fourths of stroke patients arriving at Minnesota hospitals met the national stroke treatment goal of receiving IV-thrombolytics within 60 minutes of arriving in the emergency department.
  • The number of patients meeting this goal has shown slight improvement over the last few years, but there are differences between hospitals designated as Primary or Comprehensive Stoke Centers or Acute Stroke Ready Hospitals by the Minnesota Department of Health and hospitals who have not received designation for their stroke care.

See Also:

Quick Facts about Stroke

What is Stroke?


 
 

Analysis

The number of emergency ischemic stroke patients who had IV thrombolytics initiated within 60 minutes of arrival at the emergency department has increased significantly since 2013. Table 1 and Chart 1 show the number of ischemic stroke patients who received IV thrombolytics, along with the number and percentage of patients who had these drugs initiated within 60 minutes of arrival in the emergency department.

Table 1: Total Number and Percentage of Emergency Ischemic Stroke Patients who had IV-thrombolytics initiated within 60 minutes of arrival at Minnesota hospitals, 2013-2020

Year IV-thrombolytics received within 60 minutes All patients receiving IV-thrombolytics Percent
2013 361 497 72.6%
2014 438 605 72.4%
2015 580 776 74.7%
2016 683 917 74.5%
2017 786 1,010 75.9%
2018 786 1,090 72.1%
2019 784 1,051 74.6%
2020 699 901 77.6%

Chart 1 shows the number of ischemic stroke patients receiving clot busting drugs increasing from 2013 through 2018. There was a small decline in 2019, followed by a large decline in 2020. The blue part of the bar shows the number of patients for whom IV-thrombolytics were initiated within 60 minutes. While the number of patients receiving clot busting drugs overall has increased significantly, the percentage of patients of patients where IV-thrombolytics are initiated within 60 minutes has increased only slightly from 2013 to 2020. Overall, there has been sustained high performance on this measure over the last eight years.

Chart 1: Total Number and Percentage of Emergency Ischemic Stroke Patients who had IV-thrombolytics initiated within 60 minutes of arrival at Minnesota hospitals, 2013-2020

Chart 1, see table 1 below for details.

Table 2 and Chart 2 highlight differences in initiating IV-thrombolytics within 60 minutes by type of hospital, with non-designated hospitals performing significantly worse than hospitals who have received designation for their stroke care. Primary or Comprehensive Stoke Centers have shown sustained high performance on this treatment goal since 2013, reaching their highest performance in 2020. Hospitals designated as Acute Stroke Ready Hospitals by the Minnesota Department of Health had a decline in this treatment goal from 2013 to 2014, followed by steady performance through 2020. The performance gap between these two types of facilities has remained relatively steady since 2015.

Hospitals who have not received any designation for their stroke care have shown inconsistent performance in their ability to initiate IV-thrombolytics within 60 minutes of arrival, lower than designated hospitals in all years. Since 2017, there have been fewer than 5 instances of IV-thrombolytics given at non-designated hospitals each year and are no longer compared against the majority of hospitals in Minnesota.

Table 2: Percentage of Emergency Ischemic Stroke Patients who had IV-thrombolytics initiated within 60 minutes of arrival by Minnesota Stroke Program Designation Level, 2013-2020

Year Primary and Comprehensive Stroke Centers Acute Stroke Ready Hospitals* Non-designated Hospitals
2013 77.9% n/a 58.2%
2014 75.7% 79.8% 55.0%
2015 81.8% 62.3% 46.7%
2016 80.5% 62.8% 42.9%
2017 82.9% 62.0% n/r
2018 78.0% 63.3% n/r
2019 80.7% 66.0% n/r
2020 87.5% 60.4% n/r

n/a: Acute Stroke Ready Hospitals were first designated in Minnesota in April 2014

n/r: Fewer than 5 administrations of IV-thrombolytics annually

Chart 2: Percentage of Emergency Ischemic Stroke Patients who had IV-thrombolytics initiated within 60 minutes of arrival by Minnesota Stroke Program Designation Level, 2013-2020

Chart 2, see table 2 below for details.
 
 
 
 
 
 

Other Resources

Minnesota Stroke System

The Minnesota Stroke System promotes a coordinated system of care to ensure all hospitals are equipped and ready to provide the best care possible for all Minnesotans. This system was launched in April 2014 with the designation of the first Acute Stroke Ready hospitals in Minnesota.

 

Data Source

The data were obtained from the Minnesota Statewide Quality Reporting and Measurement System (SQRMS), collected from hospitals by the Minnesota Stroke Program at the Minnesota Department of Health. The dataset captures the triage and treatment of stroke patients in Minnesota hospital Emergency Departments.

Measure Definition

Find more detail about Stroke Quality Measures and other Health Care Quality Measures in the Statewide Quality Reporting & Measurement System at the Minnesota Department of Health.

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  • cardiovascular
Last Updated: 01/19/2023

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