Does Sex Influence the Response to Intravenous Thrombolysis in Ischemic Stroke?

Background and Purpose—Women are more likely to have a worse outcome after an acute stroke than men. Some studies have suggested that women also benefit less from intravenous thrombolysis after an acute ischemic stroke, but others found no sex differences in safety and efficacy. We aimed to evaluate differences in 3-month outcome between sexes in intravenous tissue-type plasminogen activator–treated patients registered in the Safe Implementation of Treatments in Stroke-International Stroke Thrombolysis Register.

Methods—A total of 45 079 patients treated with intravenous alteplase were recorded from 2002 to 2011. Main outcome measures were symptomatic intracerebral hemorrhage, functional independence (modified Rankin Scale score, 0–2), and mortality at 3 months. Read more