Society of Vascular and Interventional Neurology Launches Stroke Awareness Campaign 

The Society of Vascular and Interventional Neurology (SVIN) global campaign, Mission Thrombectomy 2020 (MT2020) has published a white paper, Mechanical Thrombectomy for Acute Stroke. Building Thrombectomy Systems of Care in Your Region: Why and How. The white paper is targeted towards health policymakers and examines the widespread inaccessibility and geographic disparities in availability of mechanical thrombectomy (MT) for treatment of ischemic stroke. Access to MT is critical because outcomes of MT are highly time sensitive. The white paper report calls for a sweeping increase in awareness of MT for the treatment of stroke as well as the timely use of MT to improve outcomes. 

The US is a global leader in MT patient care. The burden of care is almost 4 to 5 times greater in many lower to middle income countries. Each year, approximately 13.67 million individuals from strokes worldwide, and 20% to 30% of these are caused by large vessel occlusion (LVO), which is most effectively treated with MT. Fewer than 10% of eligible individuals with LVO stroke receive MT, leaving approximately 2 million individuals in need for this procedure unable to receive it each year. 

The 2 main goals set forth by the MT2020 initiative and detailed in the report are, cost-effectiveness of patient care afforded by successful implementation of MT protocols and the need for tracking metrics and analytics made available through the dedicated MT2020 Global Thrombectomy Tracking (GTT) app. The white paper also calls for educational tools for members of the community, training initiatives for emergency medical service (EMS) and healthcare professionals, building systems of care for stroke in the community, and improving inter-hospital transfers for MT patients. 

The long-term goal of MT2020 is the emergence and widespread availability of MT as the standard of care globally. Although progress has been made since the formation of MT2020 in 2016, there is still an imminent need for continued efforts.