Do anticoagulants improve secondary stroke prevention compared to antiplatelet agents in ischemic stroke patients without known atrial fibrillation who have elevated NT-proBNP concentrations?
Elevated NT-proBNP may help identify ischemic stroke patients without atrial fibrillation who benefit more from anticoagulants than antiplatelets for secondary stroke prevention.
For secondary stroke prevention, elevated NT-proBNP concentrations may identify a subgroup of ischemic stroke patients without known atrial fibrillation, about 5% based on the current study, who may benefit more from anticoagulants than antiplatelet agents. Clinical Trial Registration- This trial was not registered because enrollment began before 2005.
Longstreth et al. (Wed,) studied this question.