Baptist Health Paducah to host Spokes for Strokes bike tour

FOX23 News at 9 p.m

PADUCAH, Ky., (KBSI) — Baptist Health Paducah will host its 15th annual Spokes for Strokes bike tour on July 11 to raise awareness about stroke prevention and support expanded stroke care services and life-saving technology.

Registration begins at 7 a.m. at the Baptist Health Imaging Center, 2705 Kentucky Ave., on the west end of the hospital campus. The bike tour will start at 8 a.m.

Registration costs $35 for individuals, $50 for couples and $65 for families of four. Participants can choose from 10-, 20-, 35- or 65-mile routes through McCracken, Marshall and Graves counties. Support vehicles will accompany riders, and helmets are required.

“We will continue to focus on public education, so people of all ages know they should call 911 immediately if they see anyone experiencing signs of a stroke,” said Dr. Joseph Ashburn, stroke center director. “Time saved is brain saved, so if they seek immediate treatment, the effects of stroke may be reduced or even reversed.”

Baptist Health Paducah is marking 16 years as a leader in stroke care. The hospital became the region’s first certified primary stroke center in 2010 and has earned the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Get With The Guidelines Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award for four consecutive years.

According to the American Heart Association, stroke is the fifth-leading cause of death and a leading cause of adult disability in the United States. A stroke occurs about every 40 seconds nationwide, and nearly 795,000 people experience a new or recurrent stroke each year.

For more information about Spokes for Strokes, call 270-575-2871.