A recent article in Science Daily summarizes the recent literature on a new form of treatment for ischemic stroke patients. Endovascular Therapy (ET) is this new treatment, and a physician quoted in the article foresees this treatment becoming the standard of care in the future.

You can read the full article here:

[Effectiveness of new stroke treatment confirmed][1]

Generally speaking there are two different types of strokes. One is a hemorrhagic stroke, where a blood vessel in the brain leaks or ruptures. The other is an ischemic stroke, which occurs when arteries leading to the brain become narrowed or blocked, often by clots. This results in reduced blood flow to the brain, causing ischemia (a shortage of oxygen causing cell injury or death).

Only patients who have been diagnosed with an ischemic stroke will be helped by this treatment. ET is performed by inserting a thin tube into the femoral artery, located in the patient’s groin. The tube is fed up through the body and into the brain vessels by the physician while using imaging to see where the tube is going. Once the tube gets to the clot, a device on the end of the tube grabs the clot and pulls it out, restoring blood flow to the brain.

This latest study confirming the efficacy of this treatment was in the New England Journal of Medicine. It looked at patients suffering from ischemic stroke and the types of treatment they were given. Some patients were given the clot busting drug tPA (currently the standard of care in such circumstances), while others were given tPA and the endovascular therapy. The study found that positive outcomes for patients increased from 35% to 60%, a significant jump.

The article concludes by stating that, due to these recent studies and publications describing them, policy makers are in the process of revising the guidelines on stroke care.

New advances in medicine like this one will hopefully reduce the patient’s seriously harmed by ischemic strokes. Further, if this does become widely available and recognized as the standard of care, patients who present to emergency departments and are not given this treatment may have a valid claim that the standard of care was not met and they suffer serious harm as a result.

[1]: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/04/150417085418.htm “Effectiveness of new stroke treatment confirmed”