№ 21612 min read
Drugs used in the prevention of cerebrovascular diseases and their side effects
1. Big picture
Drug prevention of cerebrovascular disease means preventing first stroke or recurrent stroke/TIA by treating the major modifiable mechanisms:
- Thrombosis on atherosclerotic plaques → antiplatelet drugs
- Cardioembolism, especially atrial fibrillation → anticoagulants
- Atherosclerosis and plaque instability → statins
- Hypertension → antihypertensive drugs
- Diabetes, smoking, obesity, lifestyle risks → risk-factor control
The key exam sentence:
In non-cardioembolic ischemic stroke/TIA, use antiplatelet therapy; in cardioembolic stroke, especially atrial fibrillation, use anticoagulation; in most ischemic stroke patients, add statin and strict blood pressure control.
2. Primary versus secondary prevention
Unlock the rest of this topic
Subscribe to Neurology for $10/month and unlock all 231 topics — full exam-structured notes, the State Exam questions integrated into every topic, and the downloadable Anki deck. Cancel anytime.
- ✓All 231 Neurology topics, exam-structured
- ✓State Exam questions in every topic
- ✓Downloadable Anki deck (.apkg)
- ✓Cancel anytime
Already subscribed? Sign in