Anticoagulant treatment in stroke prevention

This review aims to summarise the value of long-term oral anticoagulant tre atment in stroke prevention. Oral anticoagulation is the treatment of first choice in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) and vascular risk factors and in AF patients with recent cerebral ischemia. The treatment also subst antially reduces the risk of stroke in patients after myocardial infarction . The optimal target intensity of anticoagulation in stroke prevention is a n international Normalized Ratio (INR) between 2.0 and 3.0. The treatment h as been found to be hazardous at INR intensities between 3.0 and 4.5 in pat ients with transient ischemic attack (RA) or minor stroke of presumed arter ial origin. The value of the treatment in lower intensity in such patients still has to be established.