Stroke Foundation statement

Stroke Foundation is an independent evidence based organisation.

Current, clinical guidelines recommend thrombolysis treatment of ischemic stroke patients within 4.5 hours of symptom onset. Intravenous rt-PA was licensed for treatment of stroke by the Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration in October 2003.

The Stroke Foundation developed the Clinical Guidelines for Stroke Management 2010 to provide a series of evidence-based recommendations for the management of stroke.

As Australia’s peak body in stroke, the Stroke Foundation, reviews the guidelines to be supported by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC). Updating the guidelines is a robust process drawing on experts on stroke and evidence nationally and internationally.

A review of the guidelines is currently underway, more than 80 health professionals have been involved in the review process thus far. Health professionals have been working through abstracts and full text articles from Australia and overseas for the established robust methodology of 89 questions.

Guideline development has been funded by the Federal Government.