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Updated: Aug 20, 2026

Prehospital Thrombolysis: A Manual from Berlin
Published on: November 26, 2013
Thrombolytic therapy: current clinical practice
1Center for Health Sciences, University of California-Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA. wbaker@thrombosiscenter.com
Thrombolytic therapy is an essential tool in the array of therapies designed to reopen arteries and veins occluded with thrombus. As the use of thrombolytic agents has entered mainstream practice, their application has expanded to include a wide variety of indications and settings. Thrombolytic agents are used in patients who have thrombosis of coronary arteries, precerebral and cerebral arteries, the aorta, iliac and mesenteric arteries, and peripheral arteries. The use of thrombolysis in venous thrombosis has included deep venous thrombosis of the upper and lower extremities and vena cava, mesenteric veins, cerebral veins, and central access catheters. Guidelines are available from the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association regarding thrombolysis in myocardial infarction and from the American Stroke Association regarding thrombolysis in acute ischemic stroke.
Thrombolytic therapy is an essential tool in the array of therapies designed to reopen arteries and veins occluded with thrombus. As the use of thrombolytic agents has entered mainstream practice, their application has expanded to include a wide variety of indications and settings. Thrombolytic agents are used in patients who have thrombosis of coronary arteries, precerebral and cerebral arteries, the aorta, iliac and mesenteric arteries, and peripheral arteries. The use of thrombolysis in venous thrombosis has included deep venous thrombosis of the upper and lower extremities and vena cava, mesenteric veins, cerebral veins, and central access catheters. Guidelines are available from the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association regarding thrombolysis in myocardial infarction and from the American Stroke Association regarding thrombolysis in acute ischemic stroke.
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