Thrombolytic therapy for acute ischaemic stroke

Thrombolytic therapy for acute ischaemic stroke improves outcome in a highly selected group of patients. It will shortly be licensed in the UK for this indication. Implementation of this treatment will be difficult as current stroke services are ill-equipped to meet the challenges associated with aggressive management of hyperacute stroke.
This article evaluates the published literature concerning thrombolytic therapy in the context of ischaemic stroke and briefly discuss the obstacles which prevent more widespread use of this treatment in the UK. It also considers the effect of age on efficacy and tolerability of thrombolytic therapy.