For decades, there has been scant progress in treating one of the leading causes of death and disability for Americans — stroke.
But that may be about to change with a groundbreaking procedure called endovascular thrombectomy.
In the US, more than 795,000 people a year have a stroke. Consequences of the disease include long-term disability, and for many of those 65 or older, reduced mobility.
Around 87% of strokes are ischemic strokes, which happens when a vessel that brings blood to the brain is clogged.
An endovascular thrombectomy pulls out the clot through a long catheter with the help of imaging. Once the clot is removed, blood once again flows to the brain.
Patients have recovered remarkably well if the procedure is done quickly enough, the New York Times Magazine reported.
For example, a 60-year-old who suffered from a severe ischemic stroke that had the surgery was discharged a few days later — instead of what would have been weeks in the hospital and rehab that lasted months.
In the worst case scenario, the man may have died or faced permanent immobilization and the use a feeding tube, according to the magazine.
This is what makes endovascular thrombectomy a true advancement.
While doctors have long known the causes of stroke and its connection to heart health, treatment was mostly focused on prevention, which included the use of blood thinners and a focus on lifestyle choices.
A step in the right direction happened when drugs known as “clot-busters” arrived on the scene in the 1990s, but they couldn’t tackle the biggest clots.
A 2015 clinical trial of the procedure at Foothills Medical Center in Calgary, Canada, was so successful that it was stopped as it was no longer deemed ethical to put subjects into the control group.
That trial — along with four others — suggest astounding outcomes, including that the odds of a complete recovery were nearly tripled, according to the magazine.
However, there are challenges. Time is of the essence with the procedure and it remains to be seen whether a system can be implemented that swiftly gets a patient to surgery.
In the US, access to endovascular thrombectomy within 15 minutes is available to less than one-fifth of the population, according to the journal Stroke.