Antiplatelet Treatment to Prevent Early Recurrent Stroke

Without urgent treatment, the risk of major stroke in the week after a transient ischemic attack (TIA) or minor stroke can be as high as 10%.(1) Some studies have shown that immediate medical treatment with antiplatelet agents and statins, as well as blood-pressure control, reduces that risk by 70 to 80%,(1,2) with the benefit attributable mainly to aspirin,(3) but the residual 7-day risk of recurrent stroke is still 2 to 3%.(4) Given the effectiveness of aspirin, might more intensive antiplatelet treatment with another drug or with dual antiplatelet treatment reduce this residual risk? No other single antiplatelet drug has been . . .