Treatment of acute stroke: an update

Abstract

Stroke is the second leading cause of global mortality after coronary heart disease, and a major cause of neurological disability. About 17 million strokes occur worldwide each year. Patients with stroke often require long-term rehabilitation following the acute phase, with ongoing support from the community and nursing home care. Thus, stroke is a devastating disease and a major economic burden on society. In this overview, we discuss current strategies for specific treatment of stroke in the acute phase, focusing on intravenous thrombolysis and mechanical thrombectomy. We will consider two important issues related to intravenous thrombolysis treatments: (i) how to shorten the delay between stroke onset and treatment and (ii) how to reduce the risk of symptomatic intracerebral haemorrhage. Intravenous thrombolysis has been approved treatment for acute ischaemic stroke in most countries for more than 10 years, with rapid development towards new treatment strategies during that time. Mechanical thrombectomy using a new generation of endovascular tools, stent retrievers, is found to improve functional outcome in combination with pharmacological thrombolysis when indicated. There is an urgent need to increase public awareness of how to recognize a stroke and seek immediate attention from the healthcare system, as well as shorten delays in prehospital and within-hospital settings.