Stroke treatments in Spain have increased fivefold in the past 10 years, so specialty training in this area is an urgent priority, according to Dr. Pedro Navia, a neurointerventional radiologist at the Spanish Society of Medical Radiology (SERAM) and president of the Spanish Society of Interventional Neuroradiology Group (GeNI).
"The development of specialized training in interventional neuroradiology would help guarantee this training in a regulated manner, as well as stabilize hospital staffing levels,” he explained. "Interventional neuroradiologists in our country have incorporated the technique ... but we have done so by assuming an enormous ongoing care workload due to the lack of specialists."
In a special update coinciding with World Stroke Day, the societies cited significant increases in the number of endovascular treatments for ischemic stroke (from 2,000 in 2015 to over 9,000 in 2024) and for large cerebral vessel obstructions (more than 60,000 procedures).
"When we talk about a large cerebral vessel, we are talking about arteries measuring 2 or 3 mm in diameter, with thin and very delicate walls, so we are talking about a very complex treatment that should only be performed by a specialist with adequate training and experience," explained Navia.
He credited mechanical cerebral thrombectomy procedures with achieving significant improvements in survival and neurological prognosis. Navia also highlighted the role of multidisciplinary intervention and the key role of interventional neuroradiology, not only for the treatment of acute ischemic stroke but also for other minimally invasive diagnoses and treatments, such as cerebral aneurysms.
Stroke is the leading cause of disability among adults in Spain, with approximately 90,000 new stroke cases each year and 20,000 deaths. Some 15% of those affected by stroke in Spain are under the age of 45, according to SERAM and GeNI.
Diagnostic and treatment advances are largely due to advances in neuroimaging using multidetector CT, CT angiography, and perfusion CT, the societies said.
Find the full update here.
