Stroke Clinic

Did you know that every 10 minutes a Canadian suffers a stroke and another family finds themselves in crisis? Over 300,000 Canadians are living with the effects of stroke. It is the third leading cause of death in Canada, and the leading cause of severe acquired adult disability.

Did you know Norfolk General Hospital provides a Secondary Stroke Clinic to patients living in Haldimand and Norfolk? We are part of the Regional Centre at Hamilton Health Sciences who provide tertiary care for stroke patients and support district stroke centre’s in our region.

Through the Norfolk General Hospital Emergency, patients who show signs of stroke or Transient Ischemic Attack (TIA, or mini-stroke) are automatically referred to our Secondary Stroke Prevention Clinic. At the clinic, they will have further diagnostic testing to determine if in fact they had a stroke and what can be the next best course of action. Test results determine the urgency of each individual case and will determine how soon they should see Dr. Tim Bard, Internist. If any of their test show positive, they will see him within 7 days. This is part of the best practice for stroke care.

If it is determined, a patient has suffered a stroke or mini stroke they will return to the Secondary Stroke Prevention Clinic (held Wednesday afternoons at NGH) and undergo lifestyle counseling and risk factor assessments. The risk factors that are looked at include whether a patient is a smoker, diabetic, in need of nutrition counseling or suffer from high blood pressure/hypertension.

Lifestyle counseling is a huge part of the Secondary Stroke Prevention Clinic at NGH, where smart goals are established and patient lifestyle changes implemented. The Stoke prevention team helps manage people that have already had a stroke and help prevent it from occurring again.