Intervention to Enable Stroke Survivors in Los Angeles County Hospitals to "Stay Within the Guidelines"

RCT of an Intervention to Enable Stroke Survivors in Los Angeles County Hospitals to "Stay Within the Guidelines" (SUSTAIN)

The purpose of this study is to test a newly developed outpatient care intervention called SUSTAIN (Systematic Use of Stroke Averting Interventions) for improving delivery of stroke preventive services at Los Angeles County hospitals and to measure the costs of running such an intervention.

Patients randomized to SUSTAIN will participate in group clinics about stroke, given self-management tools about stroke, and will be called by nurse practitioners to coordinate their stroke care. Patients randomized to the control arm will be mailed educational materials about stroke. Subjects in either arm are eligible to receive their usual source of care.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Patients of LAC+USC, Rancho Los Amigos, Olive View-UCLA, or Harbor-UCLA
• Patients who have had an acute transient ischemic attack (TIA) or ischemic stroke or carotid procedure within the last six months
• English or Spanish speaking
• At least 40 years of age
• Capable of giving informed consent (no proxies will be used to obtain consent)
• Blood pressure not optimally controlled (>120/80, at least 72 hours post-stroke)

Exclusion Criteria:

• Age 39 years or younger
• Hemorrhagic stroke
• Patients with severe global disability which would preclude him/her from participating in group clinics
• Patients with advanced dementia