Abstract

Endovascular therapy (EVT) for acute ischemic stroke in selected patients has recently been proven effective in several clinical trials, and the widespread adoption of thrombectomy into routine clinical practice has begun. However, these acute stroke services are resource-intensive, including advanced cerebral imaging and highly trained multidisciplinary hospital teams rapidly responding to emergency activation. Despite the previous acceptance of intravenous fibrinolysis for acute ischemic stroke and the development of designated stroke centers (1), ischemic stroke remains a leading cause of adult death and disability (2).