An article was published in the Journal of the American Heart Association suggesting that early aspirin therapy in stroke patients could be crucial in preventing a second stroke in the following days and weeks. Aspirin is an antiplatelet medication which works to thin the blood and therefore is excellent at preventing clots. The controversy surrounding this treatment is that only ischemic strokes are caused by clotting, hemorragic strokes are caused by uncontrollable bleeding which could worsen if the patient were given aspirin. When it comes to treating a stroke patient it is obviously beneficial to begin treatment as soon as possible and dianosing which kind (ischemic or hemorragic) of stroke has occurred could take a little time. Although the majority of strokes that occur are ischemic, it is extremely important to weigh the risks and benefits of acute aspirin therapy before the treatment of a stroke.
Additionally, long term aspirin therapy has also been proven to thin the blood preventing stroke and heart attack. If a person is at high risk for a blood clot they may be prescribed to take a low dose of aspirin everyday to reduce their risk. Because aspirin is an antiplatelet medication, this therapy may cause increased bruising and complications for people with stomach ulcers or asthma. Abruptly stopping this treatment can cause a rebound effect and potentially cause a stroke or heart attack.
I find it very interesting that people with an increased risk of stroke are advised to take aspirin daily but if they stop taking it have an even greater chance of having another stroke. It makes me wonder if people who are told to start taking aspirin daily realize how important it is to keep taking it and what could possible happen if they stop with out talking to their doctor.
ReplyDeleteI definitely think this is interesting and important because it is fairly easy for people to begin an aspirin regiment, and if it significantly reduces risk for stroke it is something that more people (especially those at risk) should be educated about. As for those that are already taking aspiring, it seems crucial that they also be educated about the dangers of stopping.
ReplyDeleteI also found a study that examined several different drugs along with aspirin to see what was most effective in preventing stroke. They found that Ticlopidine was even more effective that aspirin but had more side effects. They also looked at Clopidogrel and found it did not differ significantly from aspirin. So aspirin was still the best when compared to these drugs. According to this particular study, the treatment of aspirin plus dipyridamole is the best first-line treatment for secondary prevention of stroke (out of all of the ones that they tested). I'm not sure if this is currently an accepted treatment for stroke prevention, but it seems like a good treatment to research.
http://stroke.ahajournals.org/content/33/8/2138.full
After reading this post and the comments, I actually find people NOT wanting to stop taking aspirin. In a way, it is a really good thing if they don't. However, isn't too much of something bad?
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