Guidelines for Preventing Recurrent Stroke Issued

Updated guidelines on preventing recurrent ischemic stroke have been issued by the American Heart Association and the American Stroke Association.

The document, published in Stroke, offers recommendations in a variety of areas, for example, management of risk factors such as smoking and obesity. The use of antithrombotic therapy after an intracranial hemorrhage also receives much attention.

There are several new strong recommendations, based on high levels of evidence. Among them:

• Although the utility of screening patients for metabolic syndrome has not been established, the dyslipidemic and hypertensive features of the syndrome should be singled out for preventive care.
• In addressing glycemic control and hypertension in diabetes, targets in existing U.S. guidelines should be used.

Link