Geographic access to acute stroke care in the United States.

Background And Purpose: Only 3% to 5% of patients with acute ischemic stroke receive intravenous recombinant tissue-type plasminogen activator (r-tPA) and <1% receive endovascular therapy. We describe access of the US population to all facilities that actually provide intravenous r-tPA or endovascular therapy for acute ischemic stroke.

Methods: We used US demographic data and intravenous r-tPA and endovascular therapy rates in the 2011 US Medicare Provider and Analysis Review data set.