62 year old male patient walks with focal weakness of his left arm for two days. Patient states he has had a stroke before, but it was paralysis of his entire left side and he recovered fully with physical therapy. He did not have any slurred speech or confusion upon his arrival. On exam, his left arm wasn’t completely limp but there was definitely some decreased strength.
CT head scan revealed that he had suffered another stroke. Admitted to Neurology for observation and recovery. Unfortunately, he was out of the window for TPA (tissue plasminogen activator) therapy; TPA is a clot-buster that can be used effectively within ~3 hrs of when the patient begins to feel stroke-like symptoms. Luckily, he was having pretty mild symptoms but it was unfortunate that he waited so long to come in. Hopefully, he will make another full recovery.
