Ischemic stroke affects nearly 690,000 patients a year in the United States and is the leading cause of long-term disability and the third leading cause of death [1, 2]. Acute ischemic stroke occurs when a clot becomes lodged in a cerebral vessel, cutting off blood supply to areas of the brain. There are two treatment options for acute ischemic stroke: tissue plasminogen activator (beneficial within the first 4 hours of stroke onset), and mechanical removal (beneficial from 4 to 8 hours after stroke onset). The two FDA approved clot removal devices (MERCI and Penumbra) for ischemic stroke are capable of achieving revascularization rates between 48% and 80% [3, 4].
Volume Subject Area:
Cardiovascular
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