Warning signs of a stroke include:
- Numbness or weakness of face, arm or leg, especially on one side of the body
- Confusion, trouble speaking or understanding
- Trouble seeing in one or both eyes
- Difficulty walking, dizziness, loss of balance or coordination
- Sudden, severe headache with no known cause
If you or a loved one are experiencing any of these symptoms, seek medical help immediately.
View stroke prevention tips and treatment guidelines ›
UCI Health Comprehensive Stroke and Cerebrovascular Center delivers comprehensive care for patients with acute and complex stroke that go beyond the scope of care provided by other hospitals in Orange County. Our stroke experts also conduct translational research and clinical trials, searching for novel therapies to promote brain healing and recovery.
The quality of care we provide our patients has again earned our program the American Heart Association's and American Stroke Association's joint Stroke Gold Plus Achievement Award. We've also been named to the Stroke Honor Roll Elite Plus for providing timely clot-busting treatment in patients suffering acute strokes.
Board-certified specialists
We have more board-certified stroke specialists than any other hospital in the Orange County. Our highly trained team includes stroke neurologists, neuro-interventional radiologists, neurosurgeons, neuro-intensive care specialists, rehabilitation physicians and other professionals who work in concert to ensure that our patients receive the finest, most compassionate care.
Comprehensive stroke center
The center was the first in Orange County — and among the first in the nation — to earn national certification as a Primary Stroke Center by The Joint Commission in 2004. This certification lets emergency responders know which area hospitals are best equipped to diagnose and treat stroke patients in the critical minutes and hours after the onset of symptoms.
In 2013, our stroke center became the first in Orange County to receive the commission's highest level of certification, as a Comprehensive Stroke Center. The Joint Commission recently renewed its Gold Seal of Approval® for our center. This designation certifies that we can treat the most complex stroke cases and meet the highest national safety and quality standards in treating patients with ischemic and hemorrhagic strokes, and transient ischemic attacks.
View our stroke quality data ›
Stroke receiving center
The Orange County Health Care Agency has designated UCI Medical Center as a regional Stroke-Neurology Receiving Center, which indicates to paramedics and ambulance drivers that the stroke center provides the highest of neurovascular care.
Not all hospitals have the resources or personnel to effectively treat a stroke. The county requires that a Stroke-Neurology Receiving Center have a dedicated medical director, an emergency medicine physician on-site as well as a neurologist, neurosurgeon and radiologist on call at all times.
We also have 24-hour access to a neuro-interventional radiologist who can extract a stroke-inducing blood clot.
The UCI Health Comprehensive Stroke & Cerebrovascular Center is one of the few nationally certified medical facilities in Southern California to offer interventional neuroradiology treatments for stroke and cerebrovascular conditions.
With this minimally invasive technique, our physicians use a micro-catheter to deliver clot-dissolving drugs, perform clot removal or administer other treatments to the tiny damaged vessels in the brain.
Our team provides:
- Multidisciplinary stroke care from the moment a patient enters the emergency room
- Rapid interpretation of brain scans in the emergency department
- Around-the-clock support by neurologists, neurosurgeons, interventional neuroradiologists and other experts
- Stroke-reversing treatments, including clot-dissolving drugs and clot-retrieval procedures
- A neuro-intensive care unit
- Written protocols for quality patient care and ongoing performance improvement
- Clinical research on acute therapy, long-term recovery, stroke prevention and brain repair
We see patients at Gottschalk Medical Plaza in Irvine and at UCI Medical Center in Orange.
The UCI Health Comprehensive Stroke and Cerebrovascular Center's stroke team combines experts across a wide range of disciplines who work together to determine the best treatment plan for each patient and provide thorough follow-up to ensure continuous care.
Our expert clinical team includes:
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Vascular Neurologists
Cerebrovascular Neurosurgeons
Neurointerventionalists
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Neurointensivists
Neuroradiologists
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The stroke team also includes:
- Program Manager Dana Stradling, RN, MSN, CNRN
- Nurse Practitioner Haley Blackwill, RN, MSN, AGACNP-BC
- Stroke Coordinator Diana Dench, RN, BSN, CCRN, SCRN
- Administrative Assistant Johnanna Williams
