November 27, 2008 Study: Majority of stroke victims put off getting help Play video

(Ally Donnelly, NECN) - Doctors say too many people avoid going to the Emergency Room when they're having a stroke because they think the symptoms will go away on their own. Waiting can cause serious damage.

NECN's Ally Donnelly has this week's Health Check.

When a person has a kidney transplant because they have end-stage renal disease -- the obvious hope is that their body accepts the kidney and it helps them live longer. Unfortunately more than half of all transplants fail over time.

Often it's because of defects in the kidney or the kidney is rejected by the patient's immune system. Right now, doctors say it's difficult to tell, early on, whether the kidney will take, but a new non-invasive test could change that.

According to a study in the Journal of the American Society Nephrology -- the test analyzes protein in urine and can correctly identify which transplanted kidneys are failing. The results could help doctors more accurately monitor transplant patients and fine tune immuno-suppressive therapies helping to try and prevent kidney rejection.

Newer, isn't necessarily better when it comes to heart scans. According to a study in the New England Journal of Medicine the expensive Cat scans that use multiple x-rays and 3-D images don't beat traditional angiograms when it comes to finding blocked blood vessels in chest pain patients. Study authors say doctors are using the newer test -- sometimes because patients ask for it -- despite

the fact that evidence hasn't shown that's it helpful -- and it could be driving up health care costs unnecessarily.

A Mayo clinic study shows a majority of stroke patients don't think they're actually having a stroke so they put off getting help until after their condition gets worse. Most of the 400 patients in the study didn't even go to the emergency room because they thought the symptoms would go away.

Doctors say timing is critical -- that if they get to it early, they can often dissolve or disintegrate the clot causing the stroke and get blood flowing to the brain again -- potentially minimizing damage.

Symptoms of stroke include sudden numbness or paralysis in your face, arm or leg -- usually on one side of the body, sudden speech problems, blurred vision, disorientation and confusion. Doctors say if any of these things happen seek medical attention immediately.