Acute ischemic stroke (AIS) is a severely disabling disease. Endovascular therapy is a powerful and highly effective treatment option for these patients and has recently become standard of care. The benefits of endovascular treatment (EVT) are tremendous both from a patient and from an economic perspective, since it dramatically improves individual patient outcomes while reducing long-term healthcare costs at the same time. The effect of EVT is highly time-dependent. Thus, the overarching goal in AIS is to quickly transport and diagnose the patient to minimize treatment delays. In this review, we provide an overview about the current state of stroke care, propose a fast and simplified imaging protocol and management approach for AIS patients. We also highlight the challenges we are currently facing in endovascular stroke treatment and suggest possible solutions to overcome these. Keywords▶ acute ischemic stroke, endovascular therapy, mechanical thrombectomy, stroke imaging, multiphase CT angiography therapeutic window (within 4.5 hours from symptom onset). 2) It is estimated that only 3%-5% of AIS patients ultimately receive intravenous alteplase. 3) Clearly, there was a need for another alternative treatment strategy to reduce the morbidity and mortality in AIS. Therefore, endovascular treatment techniques (EVT), which rely on mechanical clot retrieval rather than pharmacological recanalization, have been developed. In 2015, ischemic stroke treatment has fundamentally changed. Five major randomized controlled trials have proven the superiority of EVT compared to medical management in patients with LVO strokes. 4) EVT is now considered standard of care for these patients. 2) Why Offering Endovascular Therapy for AIS? Benefit from a patient perspective There are several reasons why EVT should be performed for LVO strokes. First and foremost, the benefit of EVT compared to best medical care from a patient perspective is overwhelming: The number needed to treat for reduction of disability by at least one point on the modified Rankin Scale (mRS) is 2.6, one of the lowest throughout the history of medicine. 4) This translates into a substantial increase in quality-adjusted life years (QALYs). 5) The safety profile of EVT is excellent, with no significant differences in mortality and symptomatic intracranial Background: Natural History of Acute Ischemic Stroke Acute ischemic stroke (AIS) is a severely disabling disease, particularly when there is an underlying large vessel occlusion (LVO). Until recently, intravenous alteplase was the only available treatment option for LVO patients, but its efficacy was limited, as recanalization of the occluded vessel was only achieved in 7%-30% of patients, 1) and many patients were not eligible for alteplase treatment at all because of the numerous contraindications and narrow This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives International License.