GOLDEN HOUR: A stroke occurs when blood flow to an area of the brain is cut off, causing brain cells to be deprived of oxygen and die. It is called an Ischemic Stroke. Roughly 85 to 88 per cent of strokes fall under this category. A stroke is a SUDDEN event. According to a study from the American Heart Association, every minute an untreated stroke occurs, the average patient loses 1.9 million neurons, 13.8 billion synapses, and seven miles of axonal fibres. With each hour of treatment failure, the brain loses as many neurons as it does in almost 3.6 years of normal ageing. Getting treatment immediately for Ischemic Stroke is essential because we now have a clot-buster called TPA (Tissue Plasminogen Activator). It’s an enzyme drug that can dissolve clots; any stroke-ready hospital can administer it. The reason the first hour is golden is that stroke patients have a much greater chance of surviving and avoiding long- term brain damage if they arrive at the hospital and receive treatment with a clot-busting drug called TPA within that first hour. This golden hour concept includes a 60-minute door-to- needle time. Ideally, the patient should reach the stroke hospital within 10-30 minutes and be evaluated by the doctor in the emergency department. It is essential to know the approximate time the patient was last seen well (LSW) from the accompanying person. The CT scan will take 15 to 20 minutes, and the treatment plan and required treatment ill take about 10 minutes to establish.