Anticoagulants for preventing recurrence following presumed non-cardioembolic ischaemic stroke or transient ischaemic attack.

After a first ischaemic stroke, further vascular events due to thromboembolism (especially myocardial infarction and recurrent stroke) are common and often fatal. Anticoagulants could potentially reduce the risk of such events, but any benefits could be offset by an increased risk of fatal or disabling haemorrhages.