Until very recently, physicians didn't need to know a great deal to provide the best care available to patients with stroke. The situation is rapidly changing. This article will highlight a few of those changes - including key findings from recent research for prevention and treatment of stroke, and an update on ongoing clinical trials. Other identifiable subgroups at very high risk for stroke should clearly take the risk of bleeding. Since women seem to have a higher operative morbidity and mortality, the benefit to them is minimal.
Epidemiologists posit no clear link between blood cholesterol and ischemic stroke.
Again, certain treatments are highly valuable for some patients and of no value, or even harmful, for others. Heparin never has proven beneficial for acute cerebral infarction. In fact, the limited data suggests it is not beneficial. The serious hemorrhages more than counter-balanced any benefit from reduced ischemic damage. We will know soon whether recovery at 6 months is improved in patients treated with heparin.