Clot Busters: better late then never…

So, you have a stroke, and it took you longer than 3 hours to get treatment.  Maybe it was because you were alone and couldn’t get help, maybe you thought the vision change, weakness on one side of the body, the extreme headache, the slurred speech would just go away, maybe traffic was bad.  In any rate, now you still might be ok.  New studies in The Lancet this week have shown that alteplase, a clot busting agent used in ischemic (no blood getting to brain type stroke, different from a hemorrhagic stroke or a bleeding in the brain type stroke,  “don’t give clot busters to a hemorrhagic stroke” and vice versa…) stroke, can now be used between 3 and 6 hours after initial symptoms develop and still show improvement over placebo.  Before, clot busters were thought to be ineffective after 3 hours, but now some of that damage could be reversed.  Blood flow was reinstated even after 3 hours from time of attack, and showed marked improvement over neurological outcome and better functional outcome over placebo.  So, there’s still hope if you have to wait in the ER for over 3 hours if you think you have a stroke!  Just don’t worry!  (In all fairness, if you have any signs or symptoms of stroke such as quick onset extreme headache of unknown origin, weakness in one side of the face or body, slurred speech or trouble interpreting speech, or blindness or decreased vision in one eye, please go to the ER or get treatment as soon as possible.  This study shows late treatment is good, but is no where close to being ideal.  The sooner, the better.)