There is a reliable means of reducing the risk of permanent disability from a stroke, though many stroke victims may not act quickly enough to receive it. A clot-dissolving drug called tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) has been approved by the FDA since 1996, but it is used by only a very small percentage of stroke victims, most likely because it must be administered within a few hours of stroke onset in order to be effective. Researchers from the University of Cincinnati have found that only 4 percent of people who have ischemic strokes (resulting from obstruction of a vessel supplying blood to the brain) received tPA in 2009. But the good news is that this usage is double the number since 2005, according to an analysis of medical records on tPA use.
As ACSH's Dr. Gilbert Ross points out, the need to administer tPA so soon after stroke onset is why the signs of stroke should be better publicized; people should be aware of symptoms such as weakness and/or numbness on one side of the body, difficulty speaking, sudden vision impairment, and sudden dizziness and nausea. If people can get to an emergency room as soon as possible after experiencing these symptoms, tPA can significantly reduce their risk of being permanently disabled.