Interventional stroke therapy: Current state of the art and needs assessment

The primary therapeutic strategy for ischemic stroke, as for MI patients, is early reperfusion. Improvement in stroke treatment will require dedicated stroke centers to emulate MI quality indicators such as minimizing the "door-to-balloon time". A critical element in achieving this goal will be organizing the existing multidisciplinary pool of carotid interventionalists to provide the endovascular component of the acute care for ischemic stroke patients.