Ep 12: ICH care bundle – a call to action

Evidence that a combination of actions performed together can reduce death and disability in intracerebral haemorrhagic stroke (ICH) was a call to action for the Angels Initiative to devise a set of tools that supports and standardizes implementation.   

That task fell to Madeline Bucher and Ines Carvalho who, in this episode of the Angels Stroke Heroes podcast, join us to tell the story of designing a checklist for change.  

Intracerebral haemorrhage is the most serious and least treatable form of stroke. And while the past three to four decades saw great strides in the treatment of acute ischemic stroke, the fate of ICH patients remained largely unchanged, until the conclusion of studies such as the INTERACT3 clinical research project in 2023. INTERACT3 showed that timely administration of a care bundle that included lowering of systolic blood pressure, strict glucose control, treatment of fever, and rapid reversal of anticoagulation led to less disability, lower rates of death, and better overall quality of life.   

During ESOC 2025, INTERACT3 lead investigator and WSO president-elect Prof Craig Anderson made the case for the care bundle in a panel discussion with Professors Pachi Moniche and Robert Mikulik that was initiated and recorded by Angels.   

This discussion was the starting point for Madeline and Inês after they accepted a brief to create standardized tools to support the implementation of the ICH care bundle in hospitals. 

LISTEN TO THE FULL EPISODE BELOW

“The individual steps of the care bundle, they’re not new. This is something basically everyone can do in every setting. But what is how ever new is the introduction of timing targets, and the high levels of coordination requires to activate this kind of synergistic effect. And this is where a well-designed checklist is super important.”  

Madeline Bucher and Inês Carvalho join the Angels Stroke Heroes podcast to talk about the ICH Project to standardize ICH care bundle implementation.