‘Thrombolysis’ means the breaking up of blood clots. Thrombolysis or ‘clot-busting’ medicine called tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) can dissolve the blood clot causing acute ischaemic stroke, which is the commonest type of stroke (85% of strokes). The two common thrombolysis drugs are alteplase (an intravenous bolus followed by an infusion over one hour) and Tenecteplase (just a bolus). Thrombolysis is not appropriate if the stroke has been caused by a haemorrhage (15% of strokes). Thrombolysis treatment increases the chances of a fuller recovery; however it is not effective in every case. Treatment can potentially cause bleeding, which may be serious but frequently this is minor and is often not significant.
Thrombolysis treatment can dissolve the blood clot and open the artery.
In an ischaemic stroke the blood vessel is blocked by a blood clot, which interrupts the brain’s blood supply. Thrombolysis treatment can dissolve the blood clot and open the artery.
