SVIN: Mission Thrombectomy News – August 20, 2025
Posted: 08/20/2025
Get Stroke Right: SVIN's Mission Thrombectomy Launches First Federal Advocacy Day on Capitol Hill
Washington, D.C. — July 14, 2025 — The Society of Vascular and Interventional Neurology (SVIN) and its advocacy arm, Mission Thrombectomy (MT), made history with their first federal advocacy day: MT on the Hill. The initiative brought stroke physicians, EMS leaders, and patient advocates to Capitol Hill with one urgent message: no patient’s outcome should ever be determined by their ZIP code.
In a single day, the delegation met with 23 Congressional offices—including Congressman George Latimer (NY) and Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi (IL)—advancing a bipartisan ask to standardize EMS stroke education nationwide. Their proposed solution: a scalable, evidence-based training course for paramedics that provides continuing education (CE) credits and equips EMS providers to route stroke patients to the right place, the first time.
“Our day on the Hill was more than an advocacy event—it was a milestone. We stood before lawmakers with a unified voice, championing nationwide access to lifesaving, function-preserving stroke care through thrombectomy. For SVIN and Mission Thrombectomy, this was a defining step forward in our U.S. mission,” said Dr. Dileep Yavagal, Immediate Past President of SVIN.
“Every day, I see patients who could have walked out of the hospital—but didn’t—because they never reached a thrombectomy center. Thrombectomy saves lives, but too few patients receive it. Standardized EMS training is the single most powerful lever we have to change that,” said Dr. Pankajavalli Ramakrishnan, Mission Thrombectomy Ambassador.
Partnership with EMS Leaders
The EMS Eagles—nationally recognized innovators in prehospital care—underscored the urgency of aligning stroke systems with the realities of emergency response.
“Mission Thrombectomy on the Hill was born from a stark truth: rural America is as underserved as many low- and middle-income countries. Most eligible patients in those communities never receive life-saving thrombectomy. That’s unacceptable, and it’s why we came to Washington,” said Dr. Kaiz Asif, Co-Chair of Mission Thrombectomy.
“Behind every statistic is a family like mine—one that lost someone too soon because care came too late. That’s why we’re asking lawmakers to support EMS education and stroke triage funding. These are policy decisions that literally change outcomes,” said Dr. Peter Antevy, EMS physician and member of the EMS Eagles.
“Time is brain, every minute counts. EMS education is critical to the stroke chain of survival,” added Dr. Brijesh Mehta, Mission Thrombectomy leader and vascular neurologist.
“By partnering with EMS to transform education, we can change the outcome of a stroke before the patient ever reaches the hospital. On Capitol Hill, we delivered a simple, urgent message: no patient’s chance of recovery should depend on their ZIP code. This is the essence of our call to action: Get Stroke Right—Every Patient. Right Place. Right Care. Every Time,” said Dr. Fawaz Al-Mufti, Global Chair of Mission Thrombectomy.
Advocacy Priorities
Mission Thrombectomy outlined three key priorities for Congress:
- Standardize stroke education across all EMS systems.
- Empower EMS agencies to make timely, informed triage decisions.
- Secure federal appropriations to support nonprofit-led training and system improvement initiatives.
“SVIN is doubling down on its advocacy efforts because this is one of our society’s core pillars. We are not only advancing science in the lab and improving outcomes in the operating room—we are also committed to shaping the policies and systems that determine whether patients ever get access to that care in the first place,” said Dr. Santy Ortega, President of SVIN.
Next Steps
Building on bipartisan support, SVIN and Mission Thrombectomy will:
- Draft a Congressional resolution elevating the importance of standardized EMS stroke education.
- Submit a formal appropriations request to expand nonprofit-led stroke training.
- Continue building a coalition of lawmakers, EMS leaders, patient advocates, and clinical experts.
- Engage with the Appropriations and Energy & Commerce Committees to position stroke triage as a national public health priority.
A Movement, Not a Moment
“The true measure of advocacy is not what it wins for us—but what it secures for those we may never meet. That is how we shape the future,” noted SVIN and Mission Thrombectomy leaders in closing.
This milestone marks only the beginning of a sustained movement to Get Stroke Right:
Every Patient. Right Place. Right Care. Every Time.
