Figure 2.

Dynamics of postischemic recirculation after transient mechanical (A) and recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rtPA)-treated thromboembolic occlusion (B). Reversal of mechanical occlusion results in prompt recirculation followed by postischemic hyperemia. Recirculation initiated by thrombolysis of clot embolism, in contrast, is only gradually restored and returns to normal after much longer intervals. The different hemodynamics of the two types of ischemia explain that core injury is only reversed after transient mechanical occlusion but not after thrombolytic reperfusion (see Figures 3 and 4; data from Kilic et al, 1999).