alteplase
Meaning of alteplase: Alteplase is a clot dissolving medication given intravenously within a defined time window after a stroke, heart attack, or major clot in the lungs.
Definition of alteplase
Alteplase, sold under the brand name Activase among others, is a laboratory made version of tissue plasminogen activator, a protein that helps break down blood clots. It belongs to a class of medications called thrombolytics, or clot busting drugs, and is given directly into a vein or, in some situations, delivered near the clot itself.
Alteplase activates plasminogen, converting it to plasmin, an enzyme that breaks down the fibrin mesh holding a blood clot together. This action can restore blood flow that has been blocked by a clot, which is why alteplase is used in situations including acute ischemic stroke, heart attack, and a major clot lodged in the lungs known as pulmonary embolism.
Because alteplase promotes the breakdown of blood clots throughout the body, it carries a risk of bleeding, including in the brain, and its use for stroke and heart attack depends heavily on how soon after symptom onset it can be given, since the balance of benefit and risk changes considerably with time.
Also known as
Used in a sentence
Alteplase was administered promptly after imaging confirmed an acute ischemic stroke without evidence of bleeding.
Good to know
Alteplase must generally be given within a limited window of time after symptoms begin for stroke and heart attack, since its benefit in restoring blood flow must be weighed against an increasing risk of bleeding the longer treatment is delayed.