LONDON – Treating patients quickly for mini- strokes could dramatically cut the risk of a major stroke later, report two studies that could change standard treatment and potentially save millions of people from stroke’s damaging effects.
In research published today, British and French doctors found that patients treated within 24 hours of having a mini-stroke cut their chances by 80 percent of having a more serious stroke in the next three months.
Such large reductions in risk are rare, said Dr. Peter Rothwell of Oxford University, lead author of a study published in the medical journal The Lancet.
“We normally get excited about 10 to 15 percent.”
Rothwell said that minor strokes should now be classified as medical emergencies.
In the U.K., most patients who have small strokes are referred by their doctors to specialist clinics. Many wait several weeks before being treated. In the U.S. too, many people are sent home within a day if their symptoms seem to resolve themselves.
Worldwide, nearly 15 million people have a stroke every year, and it is one of the leading killers in the industrialized world.
