title: Acute ischemic stroke therapy.
abstract: Acute ischemic stroke is a medical emergency that requires rapid evaluation and treatment. Prehospital and emergency department care can be streamlined to meet those goals. Intravenous rt-PA therapy improves outcome in selected patients with ischemic stroke if given within 3 hours of stroke onset, but offers no benefit beyond that time window. Intra-arterial thrombolytic therapy and intravenous defibrogenating agents may also be beneficial in selected patients. Newer thrombolytic agents such as aspirin and heparin in acute ischemic stroke treatment have been clarified by recent trials.
authors.affiliation: Clinical Assistant Professor, Department of Neurology, University of Michigan Medical Center, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA.
authors.forename: S L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Hickenbottom
authors.forename: W G
authors.initials: WG
authors.lastname: Barsan
mesh_terms: D002545:Brain Ischemia / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy*; D004632:Emergency Medical Services; D006801:Humans; D010348:Patient Care Team; D010975:Platelet Aggregation Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D011379:Prognosis; D020521:Stroke / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000209:etiology; D015912:Thrombolytic Therapy
chemical_list: D010975:Platelet Aggregation Inhibitors