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Aspirin, aspirin plus dipyridamole, or clopidogrel often is used to prevent recurrent stroke. In the double-blind randomized PRoFESS trial, more than 20,000 clinically stable patients (age, 50) with recent ischemic strokes received either a fixed combination of aspirin (25 mg) plus extended-release dipyridamole (200 mg) twice daily or clopidogrel (75 mg) once daily. The study was sponsored by the maker of the aspirin/dipyridamole combination (Aggrenox).
During a mean follow-up of 2.5 years, recurrent stroke occurred in 9.0% of combination recipients and in 8.8% of clopidogrel recipients — a nonsignificant difference. The incidence of a secondary composite outcome (stroke, myocardial infarction, or death from vascular causes) was 13.1% in bot…