Medical management of patients with an acute stroke: treatment and prevention.
Stroke is a common and serious disorder and will probably occur with increasing frequency due to an aging of the population. Acute therapies aimed at reversing the effects of acute ischemic stroke are limited to recombinant tissue plasminogen activator administered intravenously within 3 hours of stroke onset. Neuroprotective agents and acute anticoagulation with agents such as heparinoids and heparin are not effective in most cases. Poststroke medical complications such as infection and venous thromboembolism are common but are largely preventable. A variety of medical therapies such as antiplatelet agents, warfarin, statins, and ACE inhibitors can reduce the risk of a recurrent stroke. A key aspect of management for stroke is selection of the proper treatment regimen for each patient.
Alberts
Mark J
MJ
Stroke Program, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
D000208:Acute Disease; D000806:Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000925:Anticoagulants / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002545:Brain Ischemia / Q000503:physiopathology; D005343:Fibrinolytic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D007239:Infections / Q000209:etiology; D012008:Recurrence; D020521:Stroke / Q000150:complications* / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000628:therapy; D013923:Thromboembolism / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D010959:Tissue Plasminogen Activator / Q000627:therapeutic use*
D000806:Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors; D000925:Anticoagulants; D005343:Fibrinolytic Agents; D010959:Tissue Plasminogen Activator