Br Dr R Bowry & Dr JC Grotta
A blocked artery in the brain can often lead to irreversible brain injury resulting in an ischemic stroke with major disability, dementia or death [1, 2] The treatment of such strokes involves the administration of intravenous tissue plasminogen activator (IV tPA) within 4.5 hours of symptom onset to restore blood flow and tissue perfusion [3].