EDITOR'S NOTE: Special thanks to our guest bloggers, Casey B. Patrick, MD, FACEP, and Robert L. Dickson, MD, FAAEM, FACEP, FACEM of Montgomery County Hospital District EMS.
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There are more than 700,000 strokes in the U.S. every year, and stroke is the number one cause of disability in our country. It’s estimated that up to one third of ischemic strokes are large-vessel occlusion (LVO) strokes.1 These occur in the large blood vessels that supply the brain, specifically the internal carotid, middle cerebral, and basilar arteries. Given the large portions of the brain supplied with blood by these arteries, these types of ischemic strokes cause significant morbidity and mortality.
