Researchers have found that tiny doses of aspirin appear to protect against the damage caused by ischemic strokes. Study findings showed that those who took just a single aspirin in the week before they suffered an ischemic stroke were significantly less likely to sustain severe stroke-related damage. The study of more than 1,200 patients revealed that 10% of aspirin-takers suffered severe strokes, compared with 15% of non-users. Previous studies have found that the drug reduces the risk of stroke, and these results suggest that the drug may also help to lessen their severity. Study leader Dr. Janet L. Wilterdink, said of the findings: ” If a patient has a minor stroke on aspirin, he or she should not consider that the aspirin failed but that the stroke may well have been more severe if he or she had not been on the aspirin.”
SOURCE/REFERENCE: Stroke 2001; 32
