Stroke

BACKGROUND: It has not been yet adequately addressed whether the addition of the nonstatin LDL-C (low-density lipoprotein cholesterol)-lowering agents on top of statins has the same magnitude of risk reduction in the cardiovascular events as compared with more-intensive statin therapy. METHODS AND RESULTS: We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of RCTs (randomized controlled trials) comparing more- versus less-intensive lipid-lowering therapy (LLT) on clinical outcomes in patients with atherosclerotic cardiovascular risk...

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OBJECTIVE: We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to compare the risk of intracranial hemorrhage (ICH) between direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) and other antithrombotic drugs in detail across all diseases. METHODS: PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Library were searched for relevant randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Heterogeneity was examined using the I2 statistic. Risk ratio (RR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) were calculated using random-effects meta-analysis...

INTRODUCTION: The aims of the present study are to evaluate the potential of high-resolution black-blood MRI (hr-bb-cMRI) to differentiate common cervical arteriopathies and to evaluate interobserver reproducibility. METHODS: Forty-three consecutive patients with distinct cervical arteriopathies were examined with cervical hr-bb-cMRI at 3.0 Te with fat-saturated pre- and post-contrast T1w, T2w, and TOF images using dedicated carotid surface coils at our institution...

IMPORTANCE: Clinical evidence of the potential treatment benefit of mechanical thrombectomy for posterior circulation distal, medium vessel occlusion (DMVO) is sparse. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the frequency as well as the clinical and safety outcomes of mechanical thrombectomy for isolated posterior circulation DMVO stroke and to compare them with the outcomes of standard medical treatment with or without intravenous thrombolysis (IVT) in daily clinical practice...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

Tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) is the only therapeutic agent approved to treat patients with acute ischemic stroke. The clinical benefits of tPA manifest when the agent is administered within 4.5 hours of stroke onset. However, tPA administration, especially delayed administration, is associated with increased intracranial hemorrhage (ICH), hemorrhagic transformation (HT), and mortality. In the ischemic brain, vascular remodeling factors are upregulated and microvascular structures are destabilized. These factors disrupt the blood brain barrier (BBB)...

OBJECTIVE: The symptoms of minor stroke and transient ischemic attack (TIA) are temporary and mild. Despite the transient nature of the focal symptoms and the absence of visible brain lesions in some patients, many experience persistent cognitive problems subsequently. We aimed to establish the discriminant capacity of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) in screening for cognitive impairment (CI) within 90 days of TIA. METHOD: A total of 50 patients with minor stroke or TIA were recruited...

The optimal treatment strategy for secondary prevention in patients with cryptogenic stroke and patent foramen ovale (PFO) has been a matter of controversy for decades. After three randomized trials failed to show a benefit of closure with an excess of complications in the interventional arm, two large recent trials suggest a benefit with regard of preventing further ischemic strokes. With this discrepancy in results it is important to discuss recent trials in detail and evolve an informed clinical approach for daily practice...

OBJECTIVE: High remnant cholesterol concentrations are associated with high risk of ischemic heart disease, but whether this is also the case for ischemic stroke is unknown. We tested the hypothesis that high remnant cholesterol concentrations are associated with increased risk of ischemic stroke in the general population. METHODS: A total of 102,964 individuals from the Copenhagen General Population Study with information on remnant cholesterol at baseline in 2003-2015 were included in a prospective, observational association study...

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Sacubitril/valsartan is a first-in-class angiotensin receptor-neprilysin inhibitor (ARNI) that has been recommended in clinical practice guidelines to reduce morbidity and mortality in patients with chronic, symptomatic heart failure (HF) with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF). This review provides an overview of ARNI therapy, proposes strategies to improve the implementation of sacubitril/valsartan in clinical practice, and provides clinicians with evidence-based, practical guidance on the use of sacubitril/valsartan in patients with HFrEF...

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BACKGROUND: About 13-26% of all acute ischaemic strokes are related to non-valvular atrial fibrillation, the most common cardiac arrhythmia globally. Deciding when to initiate oral anticoagulation in patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation is a longstanding, common, and unresolved clinical challenge. Although the risk of early recurrent ischaemic stroke is high in this population, early oral anticoagulation is suspected to increase the risk of potentially harmful intracranial haemorrhage, including haemorrhagic transformation of the infarct...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Recent single-center series and meta-analyses suggest that mechanical thrombectomy (MT) without prior intravenous thrombolysis (IVT) might be equally effective to bridging therapy. We analyzed, within the Endovascular Treatment in Ischemic Stroke (ETIS) prospective observational registry, the angiographic and clinical outcomes after IVT+MT versus MT alone. METHODS: From December 2012 to December 2016, a total of 1,507 consecutive patients with a proximal arterial occlusion of the anterior circulation were treated by MT...

Development of direct oral anticoagulants and their antidotes has led to the need to reconsider the eligibility of acute stroke patients who have been taking oral anticoagulants for intravenous thrombolysis. Officially authorized Japanese guidelines on this issue were revised twice at the time of approval for clinical use of direct oral anticoagulants and idarucizumab, a specific reversal agent for dabigatran. A unique recommendation in the latest Japanese clinical guides was that thrombolysis can be recommended if the time of the last dose of direct oral anticoagulants exceeds 4 hours and if commonly available anticoagulation markers are normal or subnormal, i...

BACKGROUND: Cerebral microbleeds are a potential neuroimaging biomarker of cerebral small vessel diseases that are prone to intracranial bleeding. We aimed to determine whether presence of cerebral microbleeds can identify patients at high risk of symptomatic intracranial haemorrhage when anticoagulated for atrial fibrillation after recent ischaemic stroke or transient ischaemic attack. METHODS: Our observational, multicentre, prospective inception cohort study recruited adults aged 18 years or older from 79 hospitals in the UK and one in the Netherlands with atrial fibrillation and recent acute ischaemic stroke or transient ischaemic attack, treated with a vitamin K antagonist or direct oral anticoagulant, and followed up for 24 months using general practitioner and patient postal questionnaires, telephone interviews, hospital visits, and National Health Service digital data on hospital admissions or death...