Would you consider dual antiplatelet therapy for stroke prevention for ICAD in patients with a history of SAH?
It depends on the strength of the indication for DAPT and the cause of SAH.
It is important to keep things in perspective: the absolute risk reduction from DAPT for secondary stroke prevention in the POINT, CHANCE, and THALES trials was small (on the order of 1-3% absolute risk reduction) for minor stroke/high-risk TIA. The magnitude of the benefit of DAPT for intracranial atherosclerosis (ICAS) is a bit harder to tease out, but is likely small. A subgroup analysis of CHANCE patients with ICAS showed numerically fewer strokes with DAPT but no statistical significance (Liu et al., PMID 26330567).
If the prior SAH was aneurysmal and the aneurysm was secured, the hemorrhagic risk is low and I would generally give DAPT when indicated. Remote tra...
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If the indication is strong, e.g., high-risk TIA, minor stroke, or acute MI, I would do so for a limited period of time. Aneurysms should be operated on depending on size and location. Although antiplatelet therapy is not likely to make an aneurysm bleed.
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