Expansion of the Time Window for Treatment of Acute Ischemic Stroke With Intravenous Tissue Plasminogen Activator
Published: May 28, 2009
- Approximately 795,000 strokes occur in the United States each year; about 600,000 are ischemic.
- Current guidelines recommend administration of tissue plasminogen activator (rtPA) for acute ischemic stroke within 3 hours of stroke symptom onset.
- Recent results of the European Cooperative Acute Stroke Study (ECASS-3) show evidence of an expanded time window between 3.0 and 4.5 hours for persons experiencing acute ischemic stroke symptoms.
Supporting Materials
- Commentary: More Time to Act, No Time to Waste by Carlos Kase, MD, FAHA
- Top Things to Know: Expansion of the Time Window for Treatment of Acute Ischemic Stroke
- Slide Set (PPT)