Anticoagulants, aspirin and dipyridamole in the secondary prevention of cerebral ischaemia: which is the best for which patient?
In this paper, an overview is given of trials with oral anticoagulants and dipyridamole in the secondary prevention after transient ischaemic attack or minor stroke. In patients with atrial fibrillation, the secondary preventive treatment of first choice is oral anticoagulation with an aimed international normalised ratio between 2.0 and 3.0. In patients without a cardiac source of embolism, a combination therapy of low-dose aspirin and dipyridamole 200 mg twice daily is the treatment of choice. These treatment strategies do however not prevent all recurrent strokes or vascular complications, and research for more effective strategies is warranted.
Halkes
P H A
PH
Department of Neurology, Rudolf Magnus Institute of Neuroscience, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Algra
A
A
D000925:Anticoagulants / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001241:Aspirin / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002545:Brain Ischemia / Q000517:prevention & control*; D004176:Dipyridamole / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D010975:Platelet Aggregation Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D020521:Stroke / Q000517:prevention & control
D000925:Anticoagulants; D010975:Platelet Aggregation Inhibitors; D004176:Dipyridamole; D001241:Aspirin