Bed position matters for stroke patients

Hospital bed positioning can be critical in the first 24 hours after a person suffers an ischemic stroke, according to a new report published recently in the journal MedLink Neurology.

Ischemic stroke is the most common type of stroke, which occurs when a clot blocks blood flow to the brain.

Sitting upright can harm ischemic stroke patients because it decreases blood flow to the brain when it needs more blood, the researchers explained. It is best to keep these patients lying as flat as possible, the authors noted.

Another complicating factor is that some stroke patients have difficulty breathing while lying flat. In such cases, the head of the bed should be at the lowest elevation the patient can tolerate.