- Patients with at least a serious, measurable deficit on the NIH Stroke Scale in language (aphasia score > 1), motor power (arm or leg > 1), vision (best visual score > 2), or attention (attention score > 2). Thus eligible patients may have a minimum total score of 1 if the deficit is in language or motor power. There is no maximum score that is exclusionary; even patients with severe hemispheric or brainstem deficits will be eligible, as is current practice with intravenous rt-PA. Patients with all ischemic stroke types and in all vascular distributions are eligible.