Madam, - The excellent articles on strokes by Donal Kelly and Dr Muiris Houston (Health, May 19th) do not mention that the early use of thrombolytic agents (clot-dissolving drugs) would enable 10 to 30 per cent of stroke victims to recover fully.
At present there are 30,000 people in the State who have persisting neurological disability following a stroke. Patients with a stroke should ideally be admitted to hospitals as an emergency under the care of a neurologist. Immediate brain scanning will identify the 80 per cent of stroke patients who have a blocked blood vessel, and treatment must be given within three hours of the onset of the stroke.
The potential to reverse disability - often devastating after a stroke - should be more widely appreciated. - Yours, etc.,
JOHN MORAN,
Consultant Neurologist,
St Mary's Road,
Galway.