Medical management of patients with an acute stroke: treatment and prevention

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Updated: Aug 29, 2026

Optimized Management of Endovascular Treatment for Acute Ischemic Stroke
09:21

Optimized Management of Endovascular Treatment for Acute Ischemic Stroke

Published on: January 18, 2018

Mark J Alberts1

  • 1Stroke Program, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois, USA.

Topics in Stroke Rehabilitation
|December 19, 2003
PubMed

Stroke is a common and serious disorder and will probably occur with increasing frequency due to an aging of the population. Acute therapies aimed at reversing the effects of acute ischemic stroke are limited to recombinant tissue plasminogen activator administered intravenously within 3 hours of stroke onset. Neuroprotective agents and acute anticoagulation with agents such as heparinoids and heparin are not effective in most cases. Poststroke medical complications such as infection and venous thromboembolism are common but are largely preventable. A variety of medical therapies such as antiplatelet agents, warfarin, statins, and ACE inhibitors can reduce the risk of a recurrent stroke. A key aspect of management for stroke is selection of the proper treatment regimen for each patient.

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