Data presented at the American Stroke Association’s International Stroke Conference 2021 shows that racial disparities persist in stroke treatment.
According to a news release, mechanical removal of blood clots causing a stroke is increasing, but there remain racial differences in the treatment, data shows.
Mechanical clot removal, or endovascular therapy, is a non-surgical method of removing a blood clot that was found effective in treating stroke caused by a blockage in a large blood vessel (ischemic stroke). Guidelines were updated by the American Heart Association in 2018 to recommend endovascular therapy to improve the odds that certain stroke patients could have functional recovery.
Research has shown that members of some underrepresented racial/ethnic groups are less likely to receive the recommended treatments like endovascular therapy, though.
Between April 2012 and June 2019, a study showed that 14% of 302,965 potentially eligible …