Enhancements to cardiac and stroke care are being expanded across the province to support better patient outcomes:

• The introduction of a surgical procedure, endovascular thrombectomy (EVT), where blood clots causing stroke are removed from clinically eligible patients. This enhancement has led to improved stroke outcomes and an approximate 50 per cent reduction in patients’ length of hospital stays.
• Increased use of clot-busting drugs called thrombolytics for strokes, which has increased from 10 per cent in 2018 to almost 20 per cent, the national standard, in 2023.
• The expanded use of virtual heart failure management, where patients interact with a cardiology team specializing in heart failure to become stabilized on their medications through virtual appointments within nine weeks, rather than the six-to-12-month timeframe of traditional in-person appointments.

The reduction in hospital stays has also increased access to other patients by making acute care beds available sooner than expected.

These enhancements are in addition to the same day fly-in/fly-out cardiac catheterization flights, which have led to 118 patients flying to St. John’s to receive care sooner than anticipated, and our partnership with March of Dimes on the After Stroke pilot program.

After Stroke has already provided supports for over 153 stroke survivors, their family members, and caregivers in their transition from hospital to home.