Thrombectomy Stroke Treatment Reversing Paralysis and Preventing Death Gets Its Global Day

MINNEAPOLIS, May 10, 2021 (Newswire.com) - The Society of Vascular and Interventional Neurology (SVIN) Mission Thrombectomy 2020+ Initiative (MT2020+) will announce the first annual World Stroke Thrombectomy Day at the Global MT Revolution Regional Conference on May 15, 2021. By designating this official day, MT2020+ plans to raise public awareness about thrombectomy surgery for treatment of severe stroke and instill new global calls to action. Thrombectomy surgery is a time sensitive emergency treatment that can be done up to 24 hours from onset of stroke symptoms. It can reverse long-term stroke paralysis in the majority of eligible large severe stroke patients and saves lives. Currently, the number of eligible stroke patients worldwide who do not receive thrombectomy care is in the millions.

Global statistics on stroke patient:

• 1 in 4 people over the age of 25 will suffer a stroke in their lifetime
• Strokes are the leading cause of long term disability
• Second highest cause of death

The level of care received by stroke patients globally:

• Approximately 13.6 million people worldwide suffer from strokes each year
• An estimated 5 million of stroke victims become disabled long term
• Of that number, 2-3 million are eligible for thrombectomy surgery
• Yet only a mere 200,000 of these eligible patients receive this treatment
• This leaves close to 2 million of those who would benefit from the treatment never receiving it

Stroke thrombectomy is a minimally invasive, emergency surgery that was established as first line treatment in 2015 as a highly effective, and safe first line treatment for large severe strokes due to large artery blockage in the brain. When administered during the first 24 hours of the onset of stroke symptoms, the treatment can reverse long-term paralysis and prevent death. The treatment restores blood flow to the brain by opening blocked arteries with catheter-based devices introduced through groin or wrist arteries and saves brain tissue from permanent damage. 

The MT2020+ goal is to double the ratio of thrombectomies in each global region every 2 years. To achieve these goals, MT2020+ is issuing the following calls to action:

• Governments and Health Policy makers to allocate resources to build regional thrombectomy systems and implement regional emergency transportation protocols to triage eligible patients to thrombectomy capable hospitals
• The Public to raise awareness about thrombectomy for severe large strokes
• Medical Educators and organized medicine to rapidly increase the number of trained physicians in mechanical thrombectomy procedures

"We are very pleased to announce this annual global day that allows us to call on various stakeholders around the world to rapidly, equitably and sustainably continue to improve access to Thrombectomy for stroke in their regions. The first World Stroke Thrombectomy Day will be announced on May 15th when 22 countries will begin to report on the tremendous progress in thrombectomy access that has been made in their regions," said Dileep Yavagal, MT2020 Global Chair and GEC Co-Chair and Past-President of SVIN.

MT2020+ members from across the world will attend the 2-day Global MT Revolution Regional Conference. Regional committee leaders will present the progress made on thrombectomy capacity and access.

About SVIN

The Society of Vascular and Interventional Neurology was created to achieve the highest level of care for patients through increased collaboration in scientific research and by educating young professionals and training young investigators. The Society aims to provide opportunities to connect leaders in the field and provide a common ground for dialogue and creation of practice and safety standards. Our mission is to represent the advancement of interventional neurology as a field with the ultimate goal of improving clinical care and outcomes of patients with stroke and cerebrovascular diseases. For further information about SVIN, please visit www.svin.org or follow us on Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn.

For more information about the SVIN, contact the Executive Office at info@svin.org.

Source: The Society of Vascular and Interventional Neurology