Prevention of recurrent stroke

First of all, it should be noted that preventive measures to prevent the recurrence of ischemic stroke should begin as soon as possible after the onset of the primary condition. Among the most significant measures in the prevention of pathologies are the refusal of smoking, alcohol, correction of the diet, the use of medications, the appointment of moderate physical exertion. In connection with the increased risk of complications in patients in old age, preventive measures should be carried out with the utmost care.

To non-medicinal methods of preventing the recurrence of a stroke, first of all, the refusal to smoke is considered. As observations show, after five years of abstinence from nicotine, the risk of developing a condition in a former smoker has insignificant differences from its probability in a person who has never smoked. In this case, even in older people with a sufficiently long experience of smoking, limiting the number of cigarettes smoked or stopping smoking is used as prevention of stroke and heart attack.

Reduction of alcohol consumption gradually reduces the risk of conditions for former alcoholics. Some experts attribute this to a decrease in the content of fibrinogen and cholesterol in the serum, as well as a decrease in aggregation (adhesion) of platelets. However, alcoholics who have suffered a stroke, prevention through the use of low doses of alcohol is not proven.

Increases the risk of the onset of a decline in physical activity. Effective prophylaxis of repeated stroke by regular exercise. Favorable effect on the condition has a moderate physical load, regular walking walks in the fresh air. In case the patient is unable to move, the complex of light physical exercises is shown at home.

Prevention of recurrent stroke must necessarily include correction of the patient's diet. It is advisable to include in the diet vegetables and fruits in sufficient quantities, vegetable oil. In this case, foods with high cholesterol should be excluded. Reduction of salt intake with food is shown. In the presence of diabetes, regular monitoring of glucose level, diet, use of insulin or sulfonylurea should be mandatory. It is rational to reduce body weight before reaching the optimal index.

Prevention of recurrent stroke includes antiplatelet therapy. It should be noted that the use of drugs that reduce platelet aggregation takes a leading place among measures to prevent pathological conditions associated with the cardiovascular system. Prevention of recurrent stroke, usually carried out with the use of acetylsalicylic acid, ticlopidine and other antiplatelet agents. According to the results of observations, long-term intake (at least three years) of these medicines significantly reduces the risk of secondary pathological conditions, including lethal outcome, by an average of twenty percent.

If there is a second-third degree of arterial hypertension (severe or moderate), antihypertensive drugs may be effective . When they are prescribed, individual indications of a patient who has suffered a stroke or a heart attack are taken into account. At the same time for patients with mild (first) degree of arterial hypertension, only individual medicines from the group of antihypertensive agents are effective. These include, in particular, the diuretic indapamide.