Blood-thinning drugs bring new hope to stroke patients

One of the most miraculous surgical operations is the removal of a blood clot from the brain that’s caused a stroke, an op called a thrombectomy.

- DR MIRIAM STOPPARD

But would the prior use of blood- thinning drugs achieve better results than a thrombectomy alone?

An international collaboration of researchers from universities in Bristol, Singapore, Germany, Belgium, Sweden and Taiwan has examined this proposition, and they’ve found better survival rates with the use of blood-thinning drugs.

Thrombectomy is effective in patients with an acute stroke caused by a clot blocking the main artery for the back of the brain, the basilar artery.

Even though giving a blood-thinning drug before removing a clot is recommended, there were no studies that prove it definitely helps.