Hyperbaric Oxygen Treatment for Strokes

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy for stroke may help heal the effects of this debilitating "brain attack." Although many physicians utilize the technique, medical authorities refuse to recognize it as an effective tool.

Significance

• Stroke typically occurs when the flow of blood and oxygen to the brain is restricted. HBOT increases the level of oxygen content delivered to the brain.

Function

• Physicians hope to heal injured brain cells around the site of the stroke by using HBOT. "It helps get rid of free radicals (waste products) caused by the stroke, reduces swelling and pressure on the brain, helps stop bleeding if present, and helps stimulate the growth of new brain cells," said Dr. Ted Cole of Cincinnati Hyperbarics.

Effects

• During HBOT, individuals enter a sealed chamber and breathe 100 percent oxygen at a pressure greater than sea level. The goal is to recover or improve upon damaged speech, muscle strength, memory, coordination or lost cognitive skills.

Considerations

• Therapy for strokes is considered "off-label," meaning that stroke is not one of the 13 conditions approved for HBOT by The Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society.

Controversy

• Controversy abounds over the benefit. "Some researchers theorize that increasing the supply of oxygen to the parts of the brain affected by stroke may reduce the extent of irreversible damage," according to Dr. Jerry W. Swanson, a neurologist with the Mayo Clinic. "But this has not been proved."