It was a typical weekday morning for Tulasidas Manthri. The 44-year-old had finished a work call from home and was getting ready to head into the office. His wife, Madhuri, was also working from home. She was on a conference call herself when she heard her husband call out to her.

“I was in the living room and he was in the bedroom,” Madhuri remembers. “I could hear his voice calling me. When I got off my call, I went to see what he needed.”

Madhuri found her husband collapsed on the floor. He was asking her to lift him up when she noticed his speech was slurred and he wasn’t making much sense. Through her panic, she ran to find her phone to call 911. “The EMS came within four to five minutes,” she says. 

The emergency medical team that arrived at the Manthri home quickly assessed Tulasidas’ condition and administered an IV. It was then that the conversation became focused on a possible stroke and the need to transport Tulasidas to nearby Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Plano, which is a Comprehensive Stroke Center certified by Det Norske Veritas (DNV).

Advanced Care When It Matters Most

An emergency CT scan at the hospital confirmed what first responders had suspected: Tulasidas had suffered an acute ischemic stroke. Ischemic stroke is a type of stroke caused by a blood clot that blocks blood flow to the brain. 

In cases of ischemic stroke, doctors may be able to administer “clot-busting” medication to promote recovery. If the stroke is due to a large blood vessel blockage, however, the medication alone may not be enough to break the clot. In this case, mechanical thrombectomy can be an effective treatment aid.

“Tenecteplase is a thrombolytic agent, or clot-busting drug, that we can administer to patients with ischemic stroke,” explains neurosurgeon Jonathan Poggi, M.D., a physician on the medical staff at Texas Health Plano and a physician at Texas Health Neurosurgery & Spine Specialists, a Texas Health Physicians Group practice. “The medicine can be life-saving when administered within a window of about four and a half hours from the time of first symptoms.”

Thankfully for Tulasidas, the medicine was able to be provided within minutes of his arrival at the hospital, but it did have to be administered in conjunction with a thrombectomy due to the extent of his blockage. During the procedure, a catheter was threaded through an artery to the area of the blockage in Tulasidas’ brain. With the help of the catheter, the blood clot was removed, reestablishing blood flow.

“Many people don’t arrive at the hospital in time to receive the crucial medication or procedure, which can save lives and reduce long-term effects of stroke,” Poggi says. “So it’s important to identify stroke and seek treatment immediately. Every minute matters.”

“Working collaboratively with the hospital’s Emergency Department staff and Neurointerventional Radiology, we were able to provide Mr. Manthri with the medication within just 26 minutes of his arrival and complete the highly specialized thrombectomy within just 52 minutes. Everyone did what they needed to do, from Mr. Manthri’s spouse to the EMS team to imaging and the skilled staff in the hospital’s dedicated stroke center, to help ensure a happy ending here.”

Regaining His Healthy

Tulasidas doesn’t remember much about the early part of the day, but several hours after his life-saving treatment the normally health-conscious husband and father of two was talking without slurring his words and feeling like himself again. He was able to go home four days later.  

The Manthris are still looking for answers with Tulasidas’ doctors as to why the stroke occurred. Although there is a family history of stroke in Tulasidas’ family, both his father and grandfather experienced brain strokes, the 44-year-old eats a healthy diet and spends a solid hour in the gym on a daily basis.

In spite of the unknowns, Madhuri says one thing is for certain: “We made a good choice to go to Texas Health Plano; they saved my husband’s life.”

“Things can happen to anyone. You might fall down or feel overly tired. Don’t wait if something doesn’t seem right. Please call 9-1-1. DO NOT WASTE TIME!” Tulasidas adds.

Learn more about stroke care at Texas Health and take a few minutes to complete a free stroke risk assessment.

If you or someone around you is having symptoms of a stroke, call 9-1-1 immediately.