Stroke Treatment Time: Critical Hours for Recovery

A stroke is a medical emergency triggered by disruption of the brain's normal blood supply. Prompt reaction to the onset of stroke may prevent many of its serious or life-threatening complications.

The Facts

• According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, strokes result from a blockage in an artery (ischemic stroke) or bleeding from an artery into the brain (hemorrhagic stroke).

Treatment Time Frame

• The Mayo Clinic cites a three-hour window for prompt treatment of stroke symptoms. Treatment in this time frame can help prevent death and the development of serious complications, including paralysis and deficits of memory, thought and language.

Rapid Treatment Options

• In an ischemic stroke, doctors may use any one of several methods to rapidly clear an artery blockage, including aspirin, blood thinners such as warfarin (Coumadin) and a newer clot-busting medication called tissue plasminogen activator (TPA).

TPA

• TPA belongs to a class of medications called thrombolytics. For it to achieve its therapeutic effect, doctors must administer it within three hours of the first signs of stroke.

Considerations

• Before administering TPA, doctors routinely examine a patient's brain to differentiate ischemic stroke from hemorrhagic stroke. TPA use in a case of hemorrhagic stroke can trigger a lethal worsening of existing bleeding.