The American Stroke Association will present a live, interactive broadcast for medical professionals on September 25 addressing confusing and controversial stroke-treatment options. This information will help medical professionals help their stroke patients dramatically reduce their risk of additional strokes.

The broadcast, Secondary Stroke Prevention: Addressing Current Controversies, will air on Wednesday, September 25, from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. (CDT) and from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. (CDT) at registered hospitals, universities and other medical facilities across the nation. Participants can call, e-mail or fax during the broadcast with questions for a panel of stroke experts. For additional information on the broadcast, click here.

Medical professionals should contact their hospital education coordinator or equivalent staff to see if the broadcast is offered in their facility. Some facilities may require a viewing fee.

The broadcast is intended for primary care physicians, internists and internal medicine sub-specialists, pharmacists, neurologists, neurosurgeons, nurses, physician assistants, patient education directors and hospital education coordinators. Participating physicians, nurses and pharmacists may receive continuing education credits as follows: 1.5 hours of AMA category 1 medical education (CME) for physicians; 1.5 contact hours or .15 CEUs for pharmacists; and an application is being made to American Association of Critical Care Nurses for 1.5 contact hours of CERP category A.

"Because TIA and stroke patients are at increased risk for experiencing another stroke, it is essential that medical professionals stay abreast of the latest treatments and advances to help their patients prevent a second stroke," says Larry Goldstein, M.D., chairman of the American Stroke Association's satellite broadcast program committee and facilitator of the broadcast. "However, wading through the evidence supporting a specific therapeutic approach can be difficult for busy health care providers."

"Through the American Stroke Association's satellite broadcast, medical professionals will learn vital information to effectively treat and educate their patients about secondary stroke prevention and to have their own questions answered," he says.

This broadcast will be the third in a series of continuing education satellite broadcasts offered by the American Stroke Association. The first broadcast aired in May 2001 and focused on acute stroke treatment; the second aired in February 2002 and focused on the latest advances in stroke diagnosis and treatment.

This satellite broadcast is supported through an educational grant from Bristol-Myers Squibb Company and Sanofi Synthelabo.