Aspirin Shown to Reduce Stroke Deaths

Giving aspirin to patients with acute ischemic stroke within 48 hours of onset can reduce death and the severity of stroke, according to a joint scientific statement from the American Stroke Association (ASA, Dallas, TX, USA) and the American Academy of Neurology (St. Paul, MN, USA). The statement was published in a study appearing in the July 2002 issue of Stroke.

The authors conducted a review of large prospective studies involving stroke patients. They found that giving 160-325 mg of aspirin within 48 hours of stroke onset offers a small but statistically significant decrease in death rates and disability from stroke. Aspirin is an antiplatelet agent. Recommendations on other types of antiplatelet agents (clopidogrel, ticlopine) could not be made because of insufficient data. However, anticoagulants, such as heparin, have not been shown to reduce death or disability when used within 48 hours.

In a second major recommendation, the authors note that subcutaneous heparin should be considered to prevent deep-vein thrombosis in some at-risk patients. "Presumably by giving heparin to prevent clotting in the veins, you decrease the likelihood that clots will travel to the lungs and cause a pulmonary embolism,” said Bruce Coull, M.D., chair of the Joint Stroke Guideline Development Committee. "One of the ways that people can die from a complication of stroke is by pulmonary embolism.”




Related Links:
American Stroke Association
American Academy of Neurology