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Emergency drug is underused in stroke patients on blood thinners,researchers say. THURSDAY, May 10 (HealthDay News) -- Tissue plasminogen activator(tPA), a drug used to combat clots in stroke patients, does notincrease the risk of dangerous bleeding in patients also taking theblood thinner warfarin, new research found. The study included information on more than 23,000 ischemic strokepatients treated with tPA at more than 1,200 U.S. hospitals.Ischemic stroke, the most common type of brain attack, is caused bya blocked blood vessel to the brain. The clot-busting drug tPA issold under the brand name Activase and the generic name alteplase. In the study, about 8 percent of the stroke patients were takingthe anticoagulant warfarin (Coumadin) before hospital admission. The researchers found little difference in the risk of severebleeding due to a brain hemorrhage in patients who received tPAwhile on warfarin versus those not taking the blood-thinning drug.The study also found no major differences in the patients' risks oftPA-related complications or in-hospital death after tPA. The research was scheduled to be presented on Thursday at theAmerican Heart Association's Quality of Care and Outcomes Researchmeeting in Atlanta. "Although it's the only drug approved by the U.S. Food and DrugAdministration to treat acute ischemic stroke, tPA is underusedamong patients on home warfarin therapy mainly because of the fearthat it will cause bleeding," study lead author Dr. Ying Xian, aresearch fellow at Duke Clinical Research Institute in Durham,N.C., said in a heart association news release. The researchers noted that the patients taking warfarin wereusually older, had more illnesses and had more severe strokes thanthose not on warfarin. "Our study suggests tPA is not associated with excessive bleedingor death among warfarin patients when used according to AmericanHeart Association/American Stroke Association guidelines," Xiansaid. And, the researcher added, tPA "has been shown to minimize braindamage and disability from stroke and should not be withheld fromthese patients." The study authors pointed out that they didn't measure functional,neurological or long-term results of tPA treatment. The data and conclusions of research presented at medical meetingsshould be viewed as preliminary until published in a peer-reviewedjournal. More information The U.S. National Stroke Association has more about treatments for stroke. SOURCE: American Heart Association, news release, May 10, 2012 Copyright © 2012 HealthDay . All rights reserved. The e-commerce company in China offers quality products such as Custom Reusable Shopping Bag , Custom Printed Aprons Manufacturer, and more. For more , please visit Personalized Pillow Cases today!
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