As part of its ongoing efforts to reduce death and disability from stroke globally, the American Heart Association.

American Stroke Association (ASA), the world’s leading voluntary health organization devoted to fighting cardiovascular disease and stroke, and the Chinese Stroke Association (CSA), announced that Boehringer Ingelheim has joined a project launched with Medtronic to fund the development of a stroke care quality improvement program in China modeled after the AHA/ASA Get With The Guidelines-Stroke program.”

Stroke continues to be the leading cause of death in China,” says Yongjun Wang, MD., Ph.D, President of Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Capital Medical University and executive president of the Chinese Stroke Association. “We are devoted to providing the platform for the education, training, clinical research and public education about the symptoms of stroke.”Understanding the signs of stroke and reacting quickly are critical to increasing the survival rates and improving outcomes of stroke patients,” says Ying Xian, M.D., Ph.D, FAHA, American Stroke Association spokesperson and Assistant Professor of Neurology and Medicine at the Duke University Medical Center and Duke Clinical Research Institute.”

The AHA-powered program that the Chinese Stroke Association is developing is significant given the prevalence of stroke – particularly hypertension – in the country, as well as the nearly 7,500,000 of Chinese people who suffer from a stroke.”The adapted Get With The Guidelines program is a set of “best practices” that aims to continuously improve treatment, enhance the quality of care and prevent future strokes in China.

Education about the signs and symptoms of a stroke is a component of the project and is applicable for first responders and emergency medical personnel.”We feel honored to have the opportunity of working together with the Chinese Stroke Association, the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association and Medtronic to reduce the burden of stroke in China,” says Georg van Husen, M.D., Corporate Senior Vice President, head of Therapeutic Area CardioMetabolism, Boehringer Ingelheim.”

The work we have done to improve acute stroke care through our Angels Initiative with the World Stroke Organization and the European Stroke Organization will add great value to this program.””As a leading stroke care solution provider in stent retriever therapy, Medtronic is deeply committed to working in the global marketplace to improve the quality of stroke care around the world, and particularly in China,” says Chris Lee, President and CEO, Medtronic Greater China.”

Our efforts with the American Stroke Association, Chinese Stroke Association, and now Boehringer Ingelheim to significantly improve the quality of stroke care across the country underscore that commitment. Boehringer Ingelheim joining us also adds to the scale and reach of the project and will bolster our collective efforts to make a significant health impact.”