EnDovascular Therapy Plus Best Medical Treatment (BMT) Versus BMT Alone for MedIum VeSsel Occlusion sTroke

Acute ischemic stroke (AIS) is one of the main causes of death and disability and thereby the third leading cause of loss of quality adjusted life years. For patients with an AIS due to an occlusion of the large vessels of the anterior circulation, endovascular therapy (EVT) has become a treatment standard. 20-40% of all AIS patients have occlusions of smaller vessels and present with a more distal isolated Medium Vessel Occlusion (MeVO). The primary objective of this randomized trial is to determine whether patients experiencing an AIS due to an isolated medium vessel occlusion have superior functional outcome (measured with the Modified Rankin Scale "mRS" at 90 days) when treated with EVT plus best medical treatment (BMT) compared to patients treated with BMT alone. In this trial, all commercially available, CE-certified revascularisation devices (i.e. stent-retriever, aspiration catheters and balloon guide catheters) can be used for EVT. All established techniques for the endovascular treatment of AIS patients are permitted and all decisions regarding treatment technique and choice of devices and/or medications are made solely by the treating physician.