The sooner stroke patients receive thrombolytic treatment, the lower their risk of in-hospital mortality and intracranial hemorrhage, says a new study published in JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Association).



stroke





Every two seconds a stroke occurs somewhere in the world, it is the major cause of acquired disabilities worldwide.

irreversibly injured tissue in acute cerebral ischemia expands over time



“However, modest sample sizes have limited characterization of the extent to which onset to treatment time (OTT) influences outcome; and the generalizability of findings to clinical practice is uncertain.”







  • Only 9.3 percent had an OTT of less than 90 minutes
  • 77.2 percent had an OTT of between 90 and 180 minutes
  • 13.6 percent had an OTT of between 181 and 270 minutes






Patients who were treated within 90 minutes of symptoms onset were 26 percent less likely to die



“These findings support intensive efforts to accelerate patient presentation and to streamline regional and hospital systems of acute stroke care to compress OTT times.”

StroketpA treatment can benefit stroke patients up to 4.5 hours after the onset of symptoms.



highlight how important it is for a stroke patient to receive treatment as quickly as possible.

if any one of these five symptoms are recognized, call 911 (UK: 999) immediately, regardless of the age of the victim:
  • Sudden numbness or weakness of the face, arm, or leg on one side of the body.
  • Sudden confusion, difficulty talking or understanding.
  • Sudden trouble seeing on one side.
  • Sudden, severe difficulty walking, dizziness, loss of coordination or balance.
  • Sudden, severe headache for no known reason.