title: Secondary prevention of ischemic stroke.
abstract: Stroke strikes often suddenly, causes long-term disability and death, and is a huge economical burden for the society, not to mention the human tragedy for the patient and the family. At least 15% of stroke survivors will have a second stroke during the next five years, quarter of which prove out to be fatal within four weeks. Secondary prevention of ischemic stroke (IS) targets at reducing stroke recurrence by means of 1) detection and modification of risk factors, 2) antithrombotic or anticoagulant treatment, and 3) surgical interventions for selected patient subgroups. In this review we will discuss these issues in detail and also offer our personal suggestions for treatment choices. Detecting and treating the modifiable risk factors is the major challenge of secondary prevention of IS.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Helsinki University Central Hospital, Helsinki, Finland. kirsi.rantanen@hus.fi
authors.forename: Kirsi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Rantanen
authors.forename: Turgut
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tatlisumak
mesh_terms: D000925:Anticoagulants / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001777:Blood Coagulation / Q000187:drug effects; D002545:Brain Ischemia / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications*; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000097:blood; D016894:Endarterectomy, Carotid; D006801:Humans; D010975:Platelet Aggregation Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use; D012307:Risk Factors; D055502:Secondary Prevention; D020521:Stroke / Q000097:blood / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control*
chemical_list: D000925:Anticoagulants; D010975:Platelet Aggregation Inhibitors; D002784:Cholesterol