Medication, Exercise, and Stent Surgery Maybe be Most Beneficial for Secondary Stroke Prevention 

According to a new practice advisory by the American Academy of Neurology (AAN), medications and exercise is more efficient in preventing secondary stroke s than treatment with a surgical stent. 

“People who have had this type of stroke should first be started on medications to prevent blood clots, reduce blood pressure and cholesterol and safely start increasing their physical activity as recommended by their doctors to decrease the risk of another stroke,” said practice advisory author Tanya Turan, MD, MSCR, of the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston and a Fellow of the American Academy of Neurology. “Having a stent placed in the blood vessel of the brain should not be the first option of care for most people.”
 
Based on Turan’s statements, medication and exercise and stent surgery have been the 2 approaches for people with narrowing of the brain arteries to develop prevention a second stroke. 
 
“Reviewing all of the evidence that has accumulated over the last two decades, we found that the research shows that medical management is more beneficial for people as an initial treatment,” she said.