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Mike Mitka

JAMA. 2008;299(14):1653-1654.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

New Orleans—Although the availability of thrombolytic therapy in the form of tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) was seen as a potential milestone in treating ischemic stroke when it was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration in 1996, the reality is that few patients receive it. The failure of most individuals experiencing ischemic stroke to recognize their symptoms and promptly seek care, coupled with the delays by emergency departments to deliver timely care when such patients come through their doors, means that only a small proportion (estimated at less than 5%) of eligible patients with stroke receive tPA within the therapeutic window of 3 hours from symptom onset.

To be eligible to receive thrombolytic therapy for a stroke, patients must learn to recognize symptoms and seek help at an emergency department within 3 hours of symptom onset.

At the American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference held here . . . [Full Text of this Article]

EDUCATION EFFORTS INADEQUATE