Rapid Treatment of Stroke

Your care team may provide a variety of treatment options, including medication and surgery.

Medication

A clot-busting drug called tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) may be administered. Time is most important for this treatment as intravenous tPA can only be administered within a 4.5 hour window from the onset of stroke symptoms. Rapid treatment improves the patient's chances of survival and recovery to normal or near normal, and may also reduce the complications of stroke.

In some circumstances, our team of trained neurologist and interventional radiologists may deliver tPA into an artery that directly supplies the brain. Special devices may also be used to remove a clot in one of the major arteries of the brain.

Surgery

Several types of surgical options are available and may be performed to treat a stroke. If the stroke is caused by a brain hemorrhage, clots may be removed directly from the brain. If the cause of the stroke is a ruptured aneurysm, a neurosurgeon can operate and clip the aneurysm, or metal coils can be put into the aneurysm to prevent further rupture.