Aspirin may not Increase Risk of Hemorrhagic Strokes

(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- People who have strokes caused by bleeding in the brain may still be able to take regular doses of aspirin to help prevent strokes caused by blood clots.

That's the key finding from researchers who analyzed subsequent stroke risk in patients surviving a hemorrhagic stroke. A hemorrhagic stroke occurs when a blood vessel in the brain bursts. The most common form of stroke is the ischemic stroke, which occurs when a blood clot forms and travels to the brain. Aspirin is known to help keep blood clots from forming but it can also cause bleeding. Therefore, those who have had a hemorrhagic stroke do not typically take the drug.

Researchers from Massachusetts General hospital in Boston looked at 207 hemorrhagic stroke patients, 46 of who were prescribed aspirin treatment at some point in their post-stroke recovery. Results show no significant difference in the number of recurring hemorrhagic strokes between those who did and did not take aspirin.

The findings are important, note the researchers, because many people who have a hemorrhagic stroke also have risk factors such as advanced age and high blood pressure that put them at increased risk for an ischemic stroke as well.

Investigators stress, however, more research is needed before doctors regularly prescribe aspirin treatment to more patients with hemorrhagic stroke. Anand Viswanathan, M.D., Ph.D., study author, says, "Aspirin could be a potentially useful strategy for improving the quality of life in certain intracerebral hemorrhage survivors who are at risk for ischemic stroke, but this should be confirmed in a randomized clinical trial."

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SOURCE: Neurology, 2006:66:206-209