More Evidence of Aspirin's Benefit in Atherosclerotic Cerebrovascular Disease

Aspirin reduces the risk for recurrent ischemic stroke. Even in cases where aspirin does not prevent stroke entirely, it might reduce infarction size. However, prior studies have reported conflicting findings about whether prestroke aspirin use is associated with lower stroke severity. Therefore, researchers in South Korea examined the association between prestroke aspirin use and clinical stroke severity in a partially manufacturer-sponsored study.

The researchers retrospectively identified patients who were prospectively enrolled in a multicenter registry between 2008 and 2012 after having an ischemic stroke caused by large-artery atherosclerosis, small-vessel occlusion, or cardioembolism. Patients with prior use of antithrombotics other t…