Doctors & patients are saying about 'A-Fib.com'...

"A-Fib.com is a great web site for patients, that is unequaled by anything else out there."

Dr. Douglas L. Packer, MD, FHRS, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN

"Jill and I put you and your work in our prayers every night. What you do to help people through this [A-Fib] process is really incredible."

Jill and Steve Douglas, East Troy, WI

“I really appreciate all the information on your website as it allows me to be a better informed patient and to know what questions to ask my EP.

Faye Spencer, Boise, ID, April 2017

“I think your site has helped a lot of patients.”

Dr. Hugh G. Calkins, MD Johns Hopkins,
Baltimore, MD

Doctors & patients are saying about 'Beat Your A-Fib'...

"If I had [your book] 10 years ago, it would have saved me 8 years of hell.”

Roy Salmon, Patient, A-Fib Free,
Adelaide, Australia

"This book is incredibly complete and easy-to-understand for anybody. I certainly recommend it for patients who want to know more about atrial fibrillation than what they will learn from doctors...."

Pierre Jaïs, M.D. Professor of Cardiology, Haut-Lévêque Hospital, Bordeaux, France

"Dear Steve, I saw a patient this morning with your book [in hand] and highlights throughout. She loves it and finds it very useful to help her in dealing with atrial fibrillation."

Dr. Wilber Su,
Cavanaugh Heart Center, Phoenix, AZ

"...masterful. You managed to combine an encyclopedic compilation of information with the simplicity of presentation that enhances the delivery of the information to the reader. This is not an easy thing to do, but you have been very, very successful at it."

Ira David Levin, heart patient,
Rome, Italy

"Within the pages of Beat Your A-Fib, Dr. Steve Ryan, PhD, provides a comprehensive guide for persons seeking to find a cure for their Atrial Fibrillation."

Walter Kerwin, MD, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA

Your Nearest ‘Certified Stroke Center’ Could Save Your Life

Published May 2, 2016

Updated August 1, 2020 A Certified Stroke Center could save your life or avert the debilitating effects of an A-Fib stroke. But only if you get there within four hours.

What is a Certified Stroke Center?

A certified or ‘Advanced Comprehensive Stroke Center’ is typically the largest and best-equipped hospital in a given geographical area that can treat any kind of stroke or stroke complication.

Only a fraction of the 5,800 acute-care hospitals in the U.S are certified as providing state-of-the-art stroke care.

Why Do I Need to Know the Closest?

If you have a stroke and get yourself to a Certified Stroke Center within four hours, there is a good chance specialists can dissolve the clot, and you won’t have any lasting damage. (Hurrah, you dodged a bullet.)

A Certified Stroke Center will have drugs such as Tissue Plasminogen Activator (tPA) to dissolve the clot. They can use Clopidogrel or acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) to stop platelets from clumping together to form clots. Or use anticoagulants to keep existing blood clots from getting larger.

Do Your Homework: Find Your Closest Certified Stroke Center

We offer you two sources to look up the nearest certified or ‘Advanced Comprehensive Stroke Center’. To find a center near you, just scroll down the page and find your state:

• Find A Certified U.S. Stroke Center Near You/NPR News
• Our Listing Of Comprehensive Stroke Centers/Life Extension

Find the center(s) closest to your home (and work or school). Copy down the name, address and phone number. Learn how to reach it. You may want to note the cross streets. Perhaps print out a map to the location and highlight the path from your home (or work or school).

How about your workplace? Find and post the closest ‘Advanced Comprehensive Stroke Center’.

Prepare for a Stroke Emergency

Now that you know your closest Certified Stroke Center, print copies of the information. Store one copy in your A-Fib Records binder or folder.

Keep a couple of copies and display in an easy to find location during a medical emergency. Keep another copy to give to emergency (EMT) responders if they come to your home. Tell them where to take you and insist they take you there. (Some EMTs have formal or informa contracts with hospitals which pay them for patients they bring in. You may have to be really insistant to be taken to a Certified Stroke Center.)

For more tips on preparing your family in the event you have a stroke, see our FAQ and answer: In Case of Stroke, What Your Family Should Know Now.