Medical Management for Secondary Stroke Prevention.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: This article reviews the evidence base and recommendations for medical management for secondary stroke prevention.

RECENT FINDINGS: Recent developments for secondary stroke prevention include evidence to support the use of short-term dual antiplatelet therapy after minor stroke and transient ischemic attack, direct oral anticoagulants for nonvalvular atrial fibrillation, reversal agents for direct oral anticoagulant-associated hemorrhage, and aspirin rather than presumptive anticoagulation with a direct oral anticoagulant for embolic stroke of undetermined source.

SUMMARY: Most strokes are preventable. The mainstays of medical management for secondary stroke prevention include antihypertensive therapy; antithrombotic therapy, with antiplatelet agents for most stroke subtypes or anticoagulants such as warfarin or a direct oral anticoagulant for cardioembolic stroke specifically; cholesterol-lowering therapy, principally with statins, but with potential roles for ezetimibe or proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 inhibitors in selected patients; and glycemic control to prevent microvascular complications from diabetes mellitus or pioglitazone in selected patients with insulin resistance but not diabetes mellitus.