Are there steps CAA patients can take to help prevent a stroke from recurring?
Most patients with CAA should avoid agents that “thin the blood” or interfere with blood clotting. The medicine with the strongest effect on blood clotting (and thus the riskiest for CAA patients) is warfarin (also known by its trade name “Coumadin”). Other medicines that have weaker effects on the blood are aspirin, aggrenox, clopidogrel (“Plavix”), and most of the anti-inflammatory medications such as ibuprofen. Patients who have had bleeding strokes should discuss these medications carefully with their doctor before using them, as they may carry more risk than benefit. Also, while high blood pressure does not appear to be a major contributor to CAA, it is usually prudent to monitor the blood pressure after a patient recovers from a bleeding stroke and maintain it in the normal range. Unfortunately there have been no medicines yet shown to lower the risk of recurrent bleeding in CAA. This is a major focus of research in this field.
