Wake-up Stroke: New Opportunities for Acute Stroke Treatment

Purpose This review summarizes the current science underpinning the treatment of patients with ischemic stroke who awaken with stroke symptoms. This large subset of stroke patients has historically been precluded from treatment with disability-limiting reperfusion therapies such as intravenous thrombolysis. Recent advances in neuroimaging have shifted the paradigm of treatment based upon rigid time-based criteria to treatment guided by evidence of salvageable ischemic penumbra on advanced imaging.