Over the past decade, there have been significant advances in acute ischemic stroke care with the proven effectiveness of reperfusion therapies for large vessel occlusion (LVO). EMS providers have an important role in delivery of acute stroke care. Pre-hospital management of acute stroke patients involves: 1) assessment with a validated LVO scale, 3) destination triage to the most appropriate stroke center, 3) communicating pertinent stroke alert information to the receiving facility. Each of these steps requires training and education of frontline paramedics. For accountability, EMS agencies should also understand quality of care delivered at stroke centers through benchmarking metrics and outcomes data.

In this session, neuro-interventioinalists from the Society of Vascular and Interventional Neurology (SVIN) will provide an overview of the latest advances in pre-hospital acute stroke care and discuss best practices for EMS integration with local stroke centers as part of an expert panel.

Learning Objectives:

Review the advantages and limitations of validated large vessel occlusion scales.
Understand the differences between Primary, Thrombectomy Capable and Comprehensive Stroke Centers to determine appropriate triage destination for acute stroke patients eligible for intravenous thrombolysis and/or endovascular thrombectomy.
Learn about current and future technologies aimed to improve assessment, treatment and triage of stroke patients in the field.