An anticoagulant can be safe for people with
MINNEAPOLIS -Coagulant suppressants are the main treatment for stroke, but they are often not recommended for people with a brain aneurysm that is not torn. An aneurysm is a bulge in the wall of a cerebral vessel. New research shows that these aneurysms rarely break out after treatment with anticoagulant drugs, so the drugs may be safe to use. The study has been published in an online issue published on October 6, 2021 Neurology®, medical diary American Academy of Neurology.
“These results are exciting because they can expand the population that can receive these thrombolytic treatments, which can prevent death and injury in people with stroke,” says study author Jyri Juhani Virta, PhD, University of Helsinki.
For the study, the researchers looked at the records of all people with stroke who had been treated with anticoagulants at a stroke center in Finland for 15 years. After determining how many had uninterrupted aneurysms, they then looked at how many people had a bleeding disorder or intracranial hemorrhage due to rupture of the aneurysm while they were in the hospital after treatment.
Of the 3953 subjects in the study, 132 had one or more uninterrupted aneurysms. Of the 155 uninterrupted aneurysms, 141 were of the type called saccular aneurysms and 14 were fusiform aneurysms.
Anneurysms ruptured after treatment, causing bleeding stroke in only three people, or 2.3%. All three had large aneurysms called fusiform basilar artery aneurysms. All three were treated with blood thinning after treatment. No succulent aneurysm ruptured.
“Fortunately, today, blood thinners are not commonly used early after ischemic stroke, so it can help reduce this risk even further,” Virta said. “Our results suggest that thrombolytic therapy may be relatively safe for people with ischemic stroke, even if they have larger succulent aneurysms that are not ruptured. People with large fusiform aneurysms should consider additional therapy for treatment because blood thinners may increase the risk of rupture of the aneurysm. “
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The limitation of the study was that only a small number of people had major aneurysms.
The study was supported by Helsinki University Hospital.
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The American Academy of Neurology is the world’s largest association of neurologists and neuroscience professionals, with more than 36,000 members. AAN is dedicated to promoting high quality patient-centered neurological care. A neurologist is a physician who specializes in the diagnosis, treatment, and management of brain and nervous system disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease, stroke, migraine, multiple sclerosis, concussion, Parkinson’s disease, and epilepsy.
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