While a recent study suggests that the window of time a stroke patient can benefit from the clotbusting drug rt-PA (recombinant tissue-plasminogen activator) has been extended from three hours to four and a half hours from the start of symptoms, you should still get to a hospital as quickly as possible. Javier Provencio, MD, with the Cleveland Clinic Cerebrovascular Center, says the findings published in the May issue of Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association, should not be seen as an opportunity to delay an emergency room visit. "Even that study showed that its more effective the sooner its given," Dr. Provencio says. "The bottom line is that the sooner you get to a hospital, the better your odds of having a good outcome."
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