Mayo Clinic's highly specialized stroke experts will quickly review your test results and determine the best treatment option(s) for you. One way to evaluate quality stroke care is to look at the percentage of patients receiving timely and effective care measures that are appropriate. At all Mayo Clinic campuses, the percentage of eligible Mayo Clinic patients diagnosed with stroke who receive all the appropriate care measures is above the national average.
Emergency treatment for stroke depends on whether you're having an ischemic stroke blocking an artery the most common kind or a hemorrhagic stroke that involves bleeding into the brain.
To treat an ischemic stroke, your Mayo Clinic stroke care team must quickly restore blood flow to your brain.
Emergency treatment with medications. Therapy with clot-busting drugs must start within 3 to 4.5 hours if they're given into the vein and the sooner, the better. Quick treatment not only improves your chances of survival but also may reduce complications. You may be given:
Intravenous injection of tissue plasminogen activator (TPA). Some people can benefit from an injection of a recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (TPA), also called alteplase. An injection of TPA is usually given through a vein in the arm. This potent clot-busting drug needs to be given within 3 to 4.5 hours after stroke symptoms begin if it's given in the vein.
TPA restores blood flow by dissolving the blood clot causing your stroke, and it may help people who have had strokes recover more fully. Your doctor will consider certain risks, such as potential bleeding in the brain, to determine if TPA is appropriate for you.
Emergency procedures. Doctors sometimes treat ischemic strokes with procedures that must be performed as soon as possible, depending on features of the blood clot:
Minimally invasive mechanical clot removal. Doctors may use a catheter to maneuver a tiny device into your brain to physically break up or grab and remove the clot.
However, recent studies suggest that delivering medication directly to the brain (intra-arterial thrombolysis) or using a device to break up or remove clots (mechanical thrombectomy) may not be beneficial for most people. Mayo Clinic scientists are working to determine who might benefit from this procedure.
Other procedures. To decrease your risk of having another stroke or transient ischemic attack (ministroke), your doctor may recommend a procedure to open up an artery that's narrowed by fatty deposits (plaques).
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Stroke - Treatment - Mayo Clinic