Intra-Arterial Thrombolysis After Thrombectomy

Neurological disorders are the leading cause of disease burden worldwide. Stroke is the single largest contributor to that burden, and the second leading cause of global mortality. Approximately two-thirds of strokes are ischemic. Although 20% of ischemic strokes are large vessel occlusions, this subtype of stroke accounts for 60% to 90% of poststroke dependence or death, contributing disproportionately to societal burden. Acute stroke therapy is guided by the reperfusion hypothesis: when a cerebral artery is occluded, all downstream tissue is at risk of infarction and irreversible neuronal death. Recovery depends on rapid restoration of blood flow to the at-risk tissue (the ischemic penumbra); hence the term time is brain.