Doctors: Treat Mild Stroke, Too - National Stroke Association

Doctors: Treat Mild Stroke, Too
Friday, February 11, 2011

UPI.com

U.S. researchers suggest treating mild strokes with the same clot-busting drug approved for severe strokes.

Researchers at the University of Cincinnati, led by Dr. Pooja Khatri, say treating mild strokes with the clot-busting drug intravenous tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) could prevent disabilities suffered by those with mild strokes.

However, this clot-busting treatment remains untested for mild stroke because of the belief patients recover with few lasting effects and tPA's slight but significant risk of bleeding to the brain.

Khatri and colleagues found out of the 243 mild stroke patients in the study, 150 were identified as likely candidates for the drug if the mildness of their stroke was disregarded as reason to deny them tPA treatment.