Short-Term Functional Outcomes of Patients Restarted on Antiplatelet Therapy After Intracerebral Hemorrhage

Although antiplatelet therapy can help prevent myocardial infarction and stroke, this benefit comes with a higher risk for intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH). The balance of risks and benefits generally favors treatment, particularly for secondary prevention. However, when an ICH occurs while the patient is on antiplatelet treatment, deciding whether to restart that therapy after the acute event causes some consternation. Although researchers have tallied the risk for ischemic cardiovascular events and for recurrent hemorrhages that would be expected with different management approaches, accounting for the impacts of these recurrent events on functional and health-related quality-of-life (HRQoL) outcomes could in theory lead to different conclu…