Thrombolytic therapy with alteplase for ischaemic stroke.

Stroke is very common, with, for example, around 110,000 people each year in England alone experiencing a first or recurrent episode. Consequences of stroke can include disability and early death, and the condition costs the UK economy around 7 billion pounds annually. Around 70-80% of first strokes are ischaemic (i.e. due to the thromboembolic or thrombotic occlusion of an intracranial artery), and so some patients with stroke may be suitable for thrombolytic therapy. Here we review the evidence for such therapy in acute ischaemic stroke.