Courtney M. Hrdlicka, M.D.

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SUMMARY

The research interests of Courtney M. Hrdlicka, M.D., encompass several areas of stroke care. Her main focus is on using telestroke networks to study emergency treatments for people with acute strokes. Dr. Hrdlicka is investigating ways to improve telestroke networks to better assist with patient care. She also is interested in the application of transcranial Doppler ultrasound, a technique that uses sound waves to evaluate blood flow in the brain.

Focus areas

• Blood pressure regulation en route. Dr. Hrdlicka seeks to prevent stroke progression in patients with large vessel occlusion stroke during their transport from smaller "spoke" hospitals to larger "hub" hospitals.
• Telestroke networks. Dr. Hrdlicka is vested in optimizing the function of telestroke networks as well as teaching telestroke evaluation skills to residents and fellows.

Significance to patient care

Many patients with acute stroke initially arrive at community hospitals without in-person vascular neurologists or other neurologists. Since acute stroke treatments have become more and more complex, telestroke evaluations can help fill this gap. Dr. Hrdlicka's work aims to optimize coordination within a telestroke network to improve care for these patients.

When people with strokes arrive at smaller community hospitals, they sometimes need to be transferred to a major hospital for specialized emergency stroke treatments. Dr. Hrdlicka's research seeks to prevent the progression to permanent brain injury that can result during emergency transport of these patients.