Intravenous thrombolytic therapy with recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (alteplase) is the cornerstone of acute ischemic stroke reperfusion therapy and is associated with significant improvements in outcomes. Historically, a number of exclusion criteria for use of alteplase had been in place, but over the past 20 years, some of these have been eliminated (eg, age >80 years, seizures at stroke onset) or have become less stringent (eg, exclusion criteria may not strictly apply to recent vitamin K antagonist treatment if the patient has an international normalized ratio <1.7, and treatment may be administered in an extended time window in some patients).
Source: JAMA Online First