Stroke

Cardiogenic cerebral embolism represents 20% of all acute ischemic strokes (AISs) with one-third of these being caused by left ventricular thrombus (LVT). LVT is not a contraindication for treatment with intravenous recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (IV rtPA) for AIS. However, the subsequent treatment of a potentially unstable LVT is contraindicated for 24 h following the use of IV rtPA according to current guidelines. We present a 66-year-old man with AIS treated with IV rtPA. Echocardiogram shortly after treatment demonstrated both a large apical and septal thrombus in the left ventricle and at 12 h post IV rtPA infusion, therapeutic anticoagulation with heparin was started without complication...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: In patients with acute middle cerebral artery (MCA) stroke, therapeutic decisions are influenced by the location of the occlusion. This study aimed to analyze clinical outcomes in patients with acute ischemic MCA stroke treated with systemic intravenous thrombolysis (IVT) using recombinant tissue plasminogen activator, according to the location of the occlusion. METHODS: Of 621 patients screened, 136 with acute stroke and MCA occlusion confirmed by CT angiography were retrospectively included in this study...

BACKGROUND: Recurrent stroke is a frequent, disabling event after ischemic stroke. This study compared the efficacy and safety of two antiplatelet regimens--aspirin plus extended-release dipyridamole (ASA-ERDP) versus clopidogrel. METHODS: In this double-blind, 2-by-2 factorial trial, we randomly assigned patients to receive 25 mg of aspirin plus 200 mg of extended-release dipyridamole twice daily or to receive 75 mg of clopidogrel daily. The primary outcome was first recurrence of stroke...

BACKGROUND: The Clopidogrel for High Atherothrombotic Risk and Ischaemic Stabilisation, Management and Avoidance (CHARISMA) trial reported no statistically significant benefit of adding clopidogrel to acetylsalicylic acid in the long-term management of a broad population of patients with stable vascular disease. However, a subanalysis raised the hypothesis that dual antiplatelet therapy with clopidogrel plus acetylsalicylic acid may be more effective than aspirin in patients with prior ischaemic stroke, myocardial infarction of symptomatic peripheral arterial disease...

OBJECTIVE: Despite the established guidelines, there is not a clear consensus about how to manage antiplatelet therapy after carotid surgery. It is a common practice in vascular surgery to use the combination of aspirin and clopidogrel in the treatment of such patients. In this work, we analyzed the impact on long-term survival of antiplatelet therapy in patients treated for carotid stenosis at a single institution over a 10-year period. METHODS: Outcomes of 471 patients who underwent carotid intervention (1999-2008) were analyzed...

OBJECTIVE: To assess whether adding clopidogrel to acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) has a long-term protective vascular effect in patients with lacunar stroke while taking ASA. METHODS: Post hoc analysis of 838 patients with ASA failure and recent lacunar stroke from the Secondary Prevention of Small Subcortical Strokes Trial (SPS3) cohort randomly allocated to aspirin (325 mg/day) and clopidogrel (75 mg/day) or placebo. Primary efficacy outcome was stroke recurrence (ischemic and intracranial hemorrhage) and main safety outcome was major extracranial hemorrhage...

BACKGROUND: Lacunar infarcts are a frequent type of stroke caused mainly by cerebral small-vessel disease. The effectiveness of antiplatelet therapy for secondary prevention has not been defined. METHODS: We conducted a double-blind, multicenter trial involving 3020 patients with recent symptomatic lacunar infarcts identified by magnetic resonance imaging. Patients were randomly assigned to receive 75 mg of clopidogrel or placebo daily; patients in both groups received 325 mg of aspirin daily...

The role of aspirin in the secondary prevention of ischaemic events is being challenged. CAPRIE, a blinded multicenter randomized trial of over 19,000 patients followed for 1-3 years, assessed the effect of clopidogrel in the secondary prevention of major vascular events. Patients with a recent myocardial infarction, stroke or peripheral arterial disease were randomized to treatment with clopidogrel or aspirin. Clopidogrel was associated with a statistically significant, overall 8.7%, relative reduction in the risk of ischaemic events, but the direction and size of the effect was not homogeneous with respect to three predefined clinical subgroups...

BACKGROUND: Clopidogrel was superior to aspirin in patients with previous manifestations of atherothrombotic disease in the CAPRIE study and its benefit was amplified in some high-risk subgroups of patients. We aimed to assess whether addition of aspirin to clopidogrel could have a greater benefit than clopidogrel alone in prevention of vascular events with potentially higher bleeding risk. METHODS: We did a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial to compare aspirin (75 mg/day) with placebo in 7599 high-risk patients with recent ischaemic stroke or transient ischaemic attack and at least one additional vascular risk factor who were already receiving clopidogrel 75 mg/day...