There must be immediate action for the treatment of ischemic stroke as blood flow needs to be restored to the brain. The main objective is to remove the blood clot that is stopping the blood flow to the brain. Fast treatment will improve chance of survival and reduce complications post stroke.
Blood Clot Breakdown
Emergency clot buster medications should be used within 4 hours or sooner after the onset of a stroke. The medicines that are effective in treating blood clots are the following:
Aspirin taken immediately has been proved to reduce the chance of getting another stroke. Once taken to a hospital, doctors will probably give a patient a dose of aspirin. Patients should notify the doctor if they already take aspirin, so they can be given the correct dosage. Aspirin is the most common drug used, but there are other drugs available to thin the blood which includes clopidogrel, heparin and warfarin.
Intravenous tissue plasminogen activator (TPA) is basically a strong clot busting drug injected in to a vein in the arm. People who have suffered from an ischemic stroke can benefit from the drug with better recovery. TPA has to be injected within 4 hours of the stroke and cannot be given to people who have had a hemorrhagic stroke.
Emergency Treatment
Immediate emergency procedures are occasionally needed for treatment of ischemic strokes. The following are procedures that require urgent treatment:
Direct TPA to the area of the brain where the stroke has affected can be used within a longer time period than intravenous TPA. This is done by inserting a catheter through the groin to the brain and dispensing the TPA in to the affected area.
Mechanical clot removal such as the MERCI retriever is a device that is inserted in to a blood vessel in the leg leading to the brain which grabs the clotand removes it from the body. The main risk of this procedure is accidentally rupturing a blood vessel.