Stroke survivor's long road back as Canada marks 20 years of guidelines

Vito Murgolo was 51 when a stroke hit on April 16, 2021. He woke unable to move the right side of his body and struggling to speak. His girlfriend rushed him to hospital, but doctors initially didn't recognize it as a stroke.

After being stabilized at McGill University Health Centre, he was transferred to the Montreal Neurological Institute-Hospital, where doctors diagnosed a lacunar stroke affecting his motor skills. Locked down during COVID-19, Murgolo's son could only watch through a FaceTime call, noticing his father's crooked mouth and slurred speech — a moment that shook him deeply.

"I had no more speaking. I walked with a limp. I couldn't move my right arm. And I had to learn all that back again," Murgolo, now 55, recalled. Nearly five years later, he still carries weakness on his right side.

Murgolo's experience reflects a reality that's improved significantly in Canada over the past two decades. On June 2, Heart & Stroke marked the 20th anniversary of the Canadian Stroke Best Practice Recommendations — evidence-based national guidelines introduced in 2006 that revolutionized how stroke is diagnosed, treated, and managed. CEO Doug Roth said the guidelines have influenced advances worldwide.

"With stroke on the rise, we need to continue to invest in systems change, research and innovation so that people who experience stroke have the best chance of surviving and having the fullest recovery possible," Roth said.

For Murgolo, better guidelines came too late. But for the thousands of Montrealers who will experience stroke in the coming years, the difference between rapid diagnosis and delayed recognition could mean the difference between recovery and lasting disability.