About

I Saw What Standard Screening Misses —
So I Built a Tool to Measure It

Sandra Bargeron, PA-C, CAA — Anesthetist, Author, and Creator of the Neurologic Stress & Recovery Index™ (NSRI™)

Sandra Bargeron, PA-C, CAA — Anesthetist & Brain Health Optimization Expert
10,000+ Surgeries as Anesthetist
75+ Peer-Reviewed References

01 — The Origin

Built From the Inside Out

As a Certified Anesthesiologist Assistant, I've been part of the anesthesia care team for thousands of surgeries. I've watched patients go under and come back. Most of the time, it's routine. But sometimes, a patient's brain doesn't bounce back the way it should.

Confusion that lasts days. Memory gaps that stretch into weeks. Personality changes that families notice before the patient does. The medical system calls it 'postoperative cognitive dysfunction' or 'delirium' — and most of the time, it's treated as an unavoidable consequence of aging or surgery.

"I didn't believe it was unavoidable. I believed it was predictable — and preventable — if we measured the right things before surgery, not after."

So I built the Neurologic Stress & Recovery Index.

The NSRI is a pre-surgical assessment that quantifies the brain's capacity to absorb and recover from neurologic stressors — measuring reserve and recovery dynamics before injury occurs. It identifies the modifiable factors that standard preoperative screening misses: cardiometabolic health, medication burden, sleep architecture, lifestyle factors, and brain/social health.

This isn't anti-medicine. It's more complete medicine. It's not anti-anesthesia. It's pro-brain-protection. And it's built by someone who knows what happens in the operating room — because I've been there.

02 — Why This Is Personal

This Didn't Start in a Lab.
It Started in My Family.

When my son faced serious neurological challenges — and I watched the medical system treat symptoms without ever measuring the terrain underneath — I realized that the gap I was seeing in the OR was the same gap I was living at home.

The brain's capacity to recover isn't random. It's measurable. And it's modifiable — if someone bothers to look.

That experience changed how I practice. It's why the NSRI doesn't just measure risk — it measures what can be strengthened. Because I've been the clinician in the room, and I've been the parent in the waiting room. Both perspectives built this tool.

03 — Credentials

Clinical Authority & Accomplishments

Clinical Credentials

  • PA-C Physician Assistant — Certified. Licensed medical provider with clinical training across specialties.
  • CAA Certified Anesthesiologist Assistant. Direct anesthesia clinical experience as part of the anesthesia care team.
  • PhD Doctor of Philosophy in Natural Medicine. Advanced training in integrative and functional health approaches.
  • BCDNM Board Certified Doctor of Natural Medicine.

Professional Accomplishments

  • Creator of the Neurologic Stress & Recovery Index (NSRI) — backed by 75+ peer-reviewed references
  • Developer of the HARP™ (Holistic Anesthesia Recovery & Preparation) framework
  • Published Author: Break Through Anesthesia Fog: Protect Your Brain and Heal Faster After Surgery (April 2026)
  • Host: ReThink It: The Brain Health & Longevity Podcast
  • Administered anesthesia to 10,000+ patients across surgical specialties

04 — The Mission

We Don't Predict Who Will Decline.
We Identify What Can Be Strengthened.

Beyond Brain Health exists to protect cognitive function perioperatively by measuring and optimizing the modifiable neurologic reserve factors that determine brain resilience — providing risk mitigation and capacity preservation that current preoperative screening does not address.

10-Year Vision

Neurologic stress and recovery assessment and optimization become standard practice in every presurgical workup — recognized as essential to patient safety, not optional.

Ready to Measure Your Brain's Resilience?

The NSRI takes 16–22 minutes and generates a personalized report across 5 evidence-based domains. It's the first step toward knowing — not guessing — where your brain stands.