Stroke Outcomes

Tracking Our Treatments

Ischemic strokes occur when a blockage forms in one of the arteries supplying blood to the brain. Patients who show signs of blockage in a major brain blood vessel and seek medical treatment within 24 hours of stroke onset may be treated through a catheter-based procedure that quickly restores blood flow by capturing and removing the blood clot from the affected vessel.

Many hospitals use the thrombolysis in cerebral infarction (TICI) scale to assess the effectiveness of endovascular treatments. The more open a blood vessel is after treatment, the easier it is for blood to flow through it.

In 2015, the Endovascular Stroke Standards Committee of the Society of Vascular and Interventional Neurology set a national benchmark for hospitals: At least 50% of ischemic stroke patients undergoing endovascular treatment must achieve a TICI grade of 2b or higher. The 2b grade indicates the vessel fills completely with blood, though the flow rate may be slower than normal.

Graph of stroke outcomes from 2020 to 2023 — *The thrombolysis in cerebral infarction (TICI) scale assesses the effectiveness of endovascular treatments (minimally invasive procedures done inside the blood vessels). A TICI grade of 2B indicates the vessel filled completely with blood, though the flow rate might be slower than normal. Grade 3 indicates complete perfusion (flow of blood). **National benchmark for hospitals, set by the Endovascular Stroke Standards Committee of the Society of Vascular and Interventional Neurology in 2015: 50% of procedures must achieve a TICI grade of 2B or higher.