Treating stroke in specialised ambulances en route to hospital is feasible and could boost the number of patients who receive life-saving therapy, experts believe.
Mobile stroke units can halve the time it takes a patient to get clot-busting drugs, a small German trial found.
The drugs only work if given within four and a half hours of stroke onset.
Since not all patients are suitable candidates, a rapid assessment is critical, The Lancet Neurology reports.
Clot-busting drugs (thrombolytics) can be effective if the stroke is caused by a blood clot (the cause in about 80% of cases), but not if it is due to a bleed.
The faster an eligible patient receives clot-busting treatment, the better their chances are of surviving and reducing long-term disability.
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