Reflections on the prevention and treatment of cerebrovascular diseases

  A serious outcome of cerebrovascular disease is the occurrence of cerebrovascular events, which include two major categories: hemorrhagic (cerebral hemorrhage and subarachnoid hemorrhage) and ischemic (cerebral infarction and transient ischemic attack), of which cerebral infarction is subdivided into cerebral thrombosis and cerebral embolism.  For cerebrovascular diseases, prevention is still the main focus, and the main means is to control risk factors plus antithrombotic. Risk factors for the occurrence of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases are also divided into two major categories, namely, risk factors that can be dealt with, such as hypertension, dyslipidemia, diabetes, smoking, etc., and another category of risk factors that cannot be dealt with, such as age, gender and genetics. It has been shown that controlling blood pressure in the normal range, treating diabetes, quitting smoking and treating dyslipidemia (statins) can significantly reduce the occurrence of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events. Aspirin clearly prevents cardiovascular disease and its events in individuals with high-risk factors, and recent studies have shown that newer antiplatelet drugs (e.g., Poliovel) are better than aspirin for the prevention of cerebrovascular events. Juntang Xu, Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Peking University People’s Hospital, Beijing, China The results of not controlling risk factors, not using aspirin, and relying solely on twice-yearly infusions or oral medications or supplements that are irrelevant and have no definite efficacy and treating them as lifesavers will be very frightening.  Once you have cerebrovascular disease, in addition to treatment and rehabilitation in the acute stage, the key is secondary prevention to prevent the progression of lesions, prevent new lesions and prevent further cerebrovascular events. The primary means of secondary prevention of ischemic cerebrovascular disease remains the control of risk factors plus antithrombotics.  It should be noted that aspirin is not necessary for young patients (under 50 years old) who have no risk factors; patients with hypertension, if the hypertension is purely benign and the patient is young, aspirin may not be used; for patients with poorly controlled blood pressure, aspirin should be avoided as much as possible, because continued use of aspirin based on higher blood pressure levels can increase the risk of cerebral hemorrhage, and when The use of aspirin should be resumed after blood pressure is controlled.  The prevention and treatment of cerebrovascular diseases must also enter the era of evidence-based medicine, and the conclusions and thinking methods of evidence-based medicine must be used to regulate our medical behavior.