What are the risks of a second stroke?
Life is a risky business, and if we think about risks the whole time we will never cross the road or go up in an aeroplane. While there is no good reason for assuming that one stroke will automatically be followed by others, the conditions which have caused the first – namely weakness of an artery wall or blood clotting – can sometimes not be reversed, and the risk persists; but it can be lessened if the patient does not smoke, is not overweight, does not take too much salt in their diet and, most important of all, has their blood pressure checked regularly and, if it is too high, keeps it under control by treatment. Most doctors will prescribe aspirin which has been shown to reduce the risk of a second stroke.
