Monotherapy with rivaroxaban was noninferior to combination therapy for the primary efficacy endpoint of composite of stroke, systemic embolism, myocardial infarction, unstable angina, or death from any cause.
Investigators terminated a study early before they could draw any firm conclusions. Thus, there remains a lack of solid evidence to support a firm recommendation regarding optimal blood pressure management for secondary stroke prevention.
In older patients with risk factors for stroke drawn from the general population, previously undiagnosed and asymptomatic episodes of atrial fibrillation are detected frequently via implantable loop recorder monitoring, allowing for early initiation of anticoagulation therapy.
Plaintiff attorneys do not always need to prove that an EP’s negligence directly caused a patient’s bad outcome. Instead, they allege only that the plaintiff was deprived of the possibility of a better outcome. Often, these “loss of chance” claims involve missed or delayed diagnosis of stroke.
Emergency physicians (EPs) are the specialty most likely to be sued in acute stroke cases, according to a recent analysis. One-third of malpractice claims named EPs. In contrast, neurologists were named in just 17% of claims.
Using the Delphi method of arriving at a consensus among clinicians concerning for which patients with atrial fibrillation should oral anticoagulants be recommended, the risk of stroke, the risk of hemorrhage, and patient-specific factors emerged. Many of these factors are not included in the guidelines and should be studied further.
A recent study revealed vegetarians have a 22% lower incidence of ischemic heart disease, but a 20% increased incidence of total stroke, mostly related to hemorrhagic stroke, when compared to meat eaters.
When there is a decision to be made regarding whether to treat a stroke patient with tPA, time is limited. Yet, there is no standard approach for informed consent for these high-pressure cases.
