Semin intervent Radiol
DOI: 10.1055/a-2772-6265
Review Article

A Primer on Medium Vessel Occlusion Stroke: From Detection to Treatment

Authors

  • Gunjan Jindal

    1   Department of Radiology, University of Calgary Cumming School of Medicine, Alberta, Canada
  • Antonio Ciacciarelli

    2   Emergency Department, Policlinico Umberto I, Sapienza University of Rome, Italy
  • Umberto Pensato

    3   Department of Neurology, IRCCS Humanitas Research Hospital, Rozzano, Milan, Italy
    4   Department of Biomedical Sciences, Humanitas University, Milan, Italy
  • Alexander Stebner

    5   Department of Radiology, University Hospital Basel, Basel, Switzerland
  • Johanna M. Ospel

    1   Department of Radiology, University of Calgary Cumming School of Medicine, Alberta, Canada

Funding None.

Abstract

Acute ischemic stroke due to medium vessel occlusion (MeVO) is now recognized as a distinct ischemic stroke entity. Radiologists are often the first to diagnose a MeVO on neuroimaging, which has implications for acute management, patient prognostication, and secondary stroke prevention. In this review, we discuss the anatomical definition, clinical presentation, and neuroimaging characteristics of MeVO stroke. We also critically revise the evidence behind available treatment options and provide a brief outlook on future directions in MeVO stroke imaging and treatment.



Publication History

Article published online:
13 January 2026

© 2025. Thieme. All rights reserved.

Thieme Medical Publishers, Inc.
333 Seventh Avenue, 18th Floor, New York, NY 10001, USA

 
  • References

  • 1 Powers WJ, Rabinstein AA, Ackerson T. et al. Guidelines for the Early management of patients with acute ischemic stroke: 2019 update to the 2018 guidelines for the early management of acute ischemic stroke: a guideline for healthcare professionals from the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association. Stroke 2019; 50 (12) e344-e418
  • 2 Turc G, Bhogal P, Fischer U. et al. European Stroke Organisation (ESO) - European Society for Minimally Invasive Neurological Therapy (ESMINT) Guidelines on Mechanical Thrombectomy in Acute Ischemic Stroke. J Neurointerv Surg 2023; 15 (08) e8
  • 3 Goyal M, Menon BK, van Zwam WH. et al; HERMES collaborators. Endovascular thrombectomy after large-vessel ischaemic stroke: a meta-analysis of individual patient data from five randomised trials. Lancet 2016; 387 (10029): 1723-1731
  • 4 Ospel JM, Goyal M. A review of endovascular treatment for medium vessel occlusion stroke. J Neurointerv Surg 2021; 13 (07) 623-630
  • 5 Ospel JM, Menon BK, Demchuk AM. et al. Clinical course of acute ischemic stroke due to medium vessel occlusion with and without intravenous alteplase treatment. Stroke 2020; 51 (11) 3232-3240
  • 6 Ospel JM, Nguyen TN, Jadhav AP. et al. Endovascular treatment of medium vessel occlusion stroke. Stroke 2024; 55 (03) 769-778
  • 7 Rodriguez-Calienes A, Vivanco-Suarez J, Dibas M. et al. Current challenges in the endovascular treatment of medium vessel occlusions. Front Stroke 2023; 2
  • 8 Saver JL, Chapot R, Agid R. et al; Distal Thrombectomy Summit Group*†. Thrombectomy for distal, medium vessel occlusions: a consensus statement on present knowledge and promising directions. Stroke 2020; 51 (09) 2872-2884
  • 9 Goyal M, Menon BK, Krings T. et al. What constitutes the M1 segment of the middle cerebral artery?. J Neurointerv Surg 2016; 8 (12) 1273-1277
  • 10 Shapiro M, Raz E, Nossek E, Chancellor B, Ishida K, Nelson PK. Neuroanatomy of the middle cerebral artery: implications for thrombectomy. J Neurointerv Surg 2020; 12 (08) 768-773
  • 11 Menon BK, Hill MD, Davalos A. et al. Efficacy of endovascular thrombectomy in patients with M2 segment middle cerebral artery occlusions: meta-analysis of data from the HERMES collaboration. J Neurointerv Surg 2019; 11 (11) 1065-1069
  • 12 Goyal M, Kappelhof M, McDonough R, Ospel JM. Secondary medium vessel occlusions: when clots move north. Stroke 2021; 52 (03) 1147-1153
  • 13 Ospel JM, Cimflova P, Marko M. et al. Prevalence and outcomes of medium vessel occlusions with discrepant infarct patterns. Stroke 2020; 51 (09) 2817-2824
  • 14 Moore MJ, Vancleef K, Shalev N, Husain M, Demeyere N. When neglect is neglected: NIHSS observational measure lacks sensitivity in identifying post-stroke unilateral neglect. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 2019; 90 (09) 1070-1071
  • 15 Arsava EM, Saarinen JT, Unal A, Akpinar E, Oguz KK, Topcuoglu MA. Impact of window setting optimization on accuracy of computed tomography and computed tomography angiography source image-based Alberta Stroke Program Early Computed Tomography Score. J Stroke Cerebrovasc Dis 2014; 23 (01) 12-16
  • 16 Fasen BACM, Heijboer RJJ, Hulsmans FH, Kwee RM. CT angiography in evaluating large-vessel occlusion in acute anterior circulation ischemic stroke: factors associated with diagnostic error in clinical practice. AJNR Am J Neuroradiol 2020; 41 (04) 607-611
  • 17 Stebner A, Bosshart SL, Fujiwara S, Souza R, Bento M, Ospel J. A visual journey through medium vessel occlusion strokes: from diagnosis to treatment. Interv Neuroradiol 2025; 31 (02) 262-273
  • 18 Menon BK, d'Esterre CD, Qazi EM. et al. Multiphase CT angiography: a new tool for the imaging triage of patients with acute ischemic stroke. Radiology 2015; 275 (02) 510-520
  • 19 Ospel JM, Bala F, McDonough RV. et al. Interrater agreement and detection accuracy for medium-vessel occlusions using single-phase and multiphase CT angiography. AJNR Am J Neuroradiol 2022; 43 (01) 93-97
  • 20 Vagal A, Wintermark M, Nael K. et al. Automated CT perfusion imaging for acute ischemic stroke: pearls and pitfalls for real-world use. Neurology 2019; 93 (20) 888-898
  • 21 Turc G, Bhogal P, Fischer U. et al. European Stroke Organisation (ESO)- European Society for Minimally Invasive Neurological Therapy (ESMINT) guidelines on mechanical thrombectomy in acute ischemic stroke. J Neurointerv Surg 2019; 11 (06) 535-538
  • 22 McDonough RV, Qiu W, Ospel JM, Menon BK, Cimflova P, Goyal M. Multiphase CTA-derived tissue maps aid in detection of medium vessel occlusions. Neuroradiology 2022; 64 (05) 887-896
  • 23 Sousa JA, Sondermann A, Bernardo-Castro S, Varela R, Donato H, Sargento-Freitas J. CTA and CTP for detecting distal medium vessel occlusions: a systematic review and meta-analysis. AJNR Am J Neuroradiol 2023; 45 (01) 51-56
  • 24 Bathla G, Pillenahalli Maheshwarappa R, Soni N, Hayakawa M, Priya S, Samaniego E, Ortega-Gutierrez S, Derdeyn CP. CT perfusion maps improve detection of M2-MCA occlusions in acute ischemic stroke. J Stroke Cerebrovasc Dis 2022; 31 (06) 106473
  • 25 Berge E, Whiteley W, Audebert H. et al. European Stroke Organisation (ESO) guidelines on intravenous thrombolysis for acute ischaemic stroke. Eur Stroke J 2021; 6 (01) I-LXII
  • 26 Meinel TR, Bücke P, D'Anna L. et al. Intravenous thrombolysis in patients with recent intake of direct oral anticoagulants: a target trial analysis and comparison with reversal agent use. Stroke
  • 27 Goyal M, Ospel JM, Ganesh A. et al; ESCAPE-MeVO Investigators. Endovascular treatment of stroke due to medium-vessel occlusion. N Engl J Med 2025; 392 (14) 1385-1395
  • 28 Psychogios M, Brehm A, Ribo M. et al; DISTAL Investigators. Endovascular treatment for stroke due to occlusion of medium or distal vessels. N Engl J Med 2025; 392 (14) 1374-1384
  • 29 Hill MD, Goyal M, Demchuk AM. et al; ESCAPE-NEXT Investigators. Efficacy and safety of nerinetide in acute ischaemic stroke in patients undergoing endovascular thrombectomy without previous thrombolysis (ESCAPE-NEXT): a multicentre, double-blind, randomised controlled trial. Lancet 2025; 405 (10478): 560-570
  • 30 Hill MD, Goyal M, Menon BK. et al; ESCAPE-NA1 Investigators. Efficacy and safety of nerinetide for the treatment of acute ischaemic stroke (ESCAPE-NA1): a multicentre, double-blind, randomised controlled trial. Lancet 2020; 395 (10227): 878-887
  • 31 Pensato U, Demchuk AM, Menon BK. et al. Cerebral infarct growth: pathophysiology, pragmatic assessment, and clinical implications. Stroke 2025; 56 (01) 219-229
  • 32 Goyal M, Ganesh A. Mitigating and quantifying cherry-picking in acute stroke trials. Stroke 2025; 56 (05) 1343-1348
  • 33 Sriwastwa A, Aziz YN, Weiss K. et al. Performance of automated algorithm in large and medium vessel occlusion detection: a real-world experience. AJNR Am J Neuroradiol 2025; 46 (03) 476-482
  • 34 Busto G, Morotti A, Casetta I. et al. Target mismatch criteria in acute ischemic stroke patients with distal-medium vessel occlusion. Eur Stroke J 2025;
  • 35 Broocks G, Mannoun M, Bechstein M. et al. Penumbral imaging to guide endovascular treatment for M2 middle cerebral artery stroke. Stroke 2025; 56 (01) 138-147
  • 36 Almekhlafi MA, Park H, Singh N. et al. Adjunctive intraarterial thrombolysis after thrombectomy in large vessel occlusion stroke: a meta-analysis of RCTs. Can J Neurol Sci 2025; 1-9
  • 37 Fischer E. Die Lageabweichungen der vorderen Hirnarterie im Gefassbild. Zentralbl Neurochir 1938; 3: 300-312
  • 38 Lawton MTMZ. Schmidek & Sweet Operative Neurosurgical Techniques. Elsevier; 2012: 2592
  • 39 Kuybu O, Tadi P, Dossani RH. Posterior Cerebral Artery Stroke. StatPearls; 2019