The selections of acute stroke patients for catheter based intervention

Administration of intravenous thrombolytic agents within the first 4.5 h after initial presentation has been used as a reliable therapy for many years in patients with acute ischemic stroke. However, more efficient therapeutic strategies are warranted due to high complication and low treatment success rate with thrombolytic agents, particularly in patients with proximal arterial occlusion. After the completion of the most recent randomized controlled trials, endovascular treatments in conjunction with intravenous thrombolytic agents have been regarded as an integral part of management in this condition. Endovascular treatments with retrievable stents have resulted in higher and faster recanalization rates, hence better clinical outcomes, particularly in patients in whom presence of proximal arterial occlusion and absence of large core tissue have been demonstrated using imaging modalities.