Acute ischemic stroke is a leading cause of death and the leading cause of disability
in the United States. Cerebral neuronal death begins within minutes after threshold
values of blood oxygen saturation are crossed. Prompt restoration of oxygenated blood
flow into ischemic tissue remains the common goal of reperfusion strategies. This
article provides a brief overview of acute ischemic stroke, a summary of the major
intra-arterial stroke therapy trials, and comments on current training requirements
for the performance of intra-arterial therapies.
Keywords
ischemic stroke - intervention - thrombolysis - thrombectomy - interventional radiology