The most effective stroke treatments can only be given within the first few hours after a stroke has occurred. Once you are identified by ambulance or emergency personnel as someone who could be having a stroke, doctors will first need to know when your symptoms started. They will also need to make sure that your symptoms are not the result of bleeding inside your brain, as medical treatments for stroke can worsen bleeding. This information will help them determine what type of stroke you are having and what type of treatment you will need.
There are two main types of stroke treatment:
Intravenous TPA This is the first line of treatment against ischemic stroke. Tissue plasminogen activator or TPA is injected into the bloodstream through an intravenous line. TPA travels in the blood until it reaches the clot that is causing the stroke. Once there it begins to break up the clot until blood can flow past it toward the affected areas.
What is TPA?
It is important to note that intravenous TPA cannot be given to people who come into the emergency room more than three hours after the onset of their symptoms for two important reasons: First, three hours after the onset of symptoms TPA is no longer effective; second: Three hours after the onset of symptoms TPA can increase the risk of bleeding inside the brain. This is one of the most important reasons why you should call 911 immediately after you feel stroke-like symptoms.
Intra-Arterial Thrombolysis This treatment, which depending on the location of the stroke in the brain can be given for up to 6 hours after the onset of symptoms, consists of the injection of TPA, or a similar agent, directly into the blood clot that is causing the stroke. To do this, a special small catheter is inserted into one of the major blood vessels in the leg, and is strategically advanced towards the brain using a special video system. Once the blood clot is found, the small catheter is passed into its center where the injection is delivered. After sometime, the TPA, or similar agent, begins to dissolve the blood clot until blood can flow past the clot towards the area of the stroke. Unfortunately, because this treatment requires special equipment and technical expertise, it is only available in selected hospitals around the country.
The MERCI Retriever The Mechanical Embolus Retrieval in Cerebral Ischemia, or MERCI retriever, is a recently developed approach to remove or break up blood clots that have wandered into a small blood vessel causing it to become occluded. This is done by carefully passing a special device from a blood vessel in the leg all the way into the blood vessel in the brain where the blood clot is trapped. The retriever captures the clot and pulls it out of the body, thus returning blood flow to the affected area.
Although this technique is still experimental, its results are often miraculous. However, as it is true with most technical procedures, the results of the MERCI retriever are limited by the experience of the people performing the procedure, and by the quality of the equipment used.
The main complication of the MERCI procedure is bleeding from an accidentally ruptured blood vessel.
Other standard medical therapies used in the treatment of acute ischemic stroke include:
Originally posted here:
Stroke Treatments - Learn About The Most Common Stroke Treatments