I trained in an ED at a comprehensive stroke center in the US, I would definitely disagree with "early 2000s." The early literature on thrombectomy and catheter-directed TPA showed no benefit, for reasons (eg poor inclusion criteria, kind of like doing cath for NSTEMI IMO). To my knowledge, in the US, prior to 2014ish this was not commonplace at all. I was highly skeptical until the MR CLEAN era studies (there were 3 or so all at once IIRC).
Happy to be corrected by neuro / neuro CC / non-US, maybe different at other shops.
