💊 KNOW YOUR MEDICATIONS AFTER STROKE
After a stroke, you may suddenly find yourself taking several tablets every day.
But often we aren't clear about what each tablet does and why.
Many of the medicines prescribed after a stroke have one very important job — reducing your risk of another stroke.
Here are some of the common ones:
🩸 CLOPIDOGREL / ASPIRIN — stopping platelets sticking together
If you’ve had an ischaemic stroke — a stroke caused by a blood clot blocking an artery — you will often be prescribed an antiplatelet medicine.
The most common long-term medication is clopidogrel.
Aspirin is another antiplatelet and is commonly used immediately after an ischaemic stroke or TIA. Some people take aspirin instead of clopidogrel, and in certain situations aspirin and clopidogrel may be used together for a short period.
These medicines make platelets less likely to stick together and form another clot.
❤️ APIXABAN, RIVAROXABAN, DABIGATRAN or EDOXABAN — preventing clots from the heart
These belong to a group called DOACs — Direct Oral Anticoagulants.
They are particularly important if your stroke was associated with atrial fibrillation (AF).
AF causes the heart to beat irregularly. Blood can pool inside the heart, allowing a clot to form. That clot can then travel to the brain and cause a stroke.
DOACs reduce the ability of the blood to form these dangerous clots.
They include:
• Apixaban
• Rivaroxaban
• Dabigatran
• Edoxaban
Some people need warfarin instead — for example, in certain types of heart-valve disease or with a mechanical heart valve.
Importantly, anticoagulants and antiplatelets are not the same thing, and most people do not need both long-term unless there is another reason.
🫀 ATORVASTATIN and other statins — reducing cholesterol and stabilising arteries
Statins are not simply “cholesterol tablets”.
After an ischaemic stroke or TIA, a high-intensity statin such as atorvastatin is commonly prescribed to reduce the risk of another event.
Lowering LDL cholesterol reduces the chance of cholesterol-rich plaques (artery deposits) growing or causing further problems in your arteries.
If cholesterol remains above target despite a statin, additional treatments such as ezetimibe may sometimes be added.
🩺 AMLODIPINE — lowering blood pressure
Amlodipine is a calcium-channel blocker.
Its job is straightforward but incredibly important: lowering blood pressure.
High blood pressure is one of the biggest treatable causes of stroke.
💊 RAMIPRIL / PERINDOPRIL — lowering blood pressure and protecting the circulation
These medicines belong to a group called ACE inhibitors.
They relax blood vessels and lower blood pressure.
Other people may take a related group of medicines called ARBs, such as losartan or candesartan.
💧 INDAPAMIDE — another important blood-pressure medicine
Indapamide is from a group known as thiazide-like diuretics and is frequently used either alone or alongside other blood-pressure medicines.
Many people need more than one blood-pressure medicine to reach their target — and that is completely normal.
The important thing is not how many tablets you take.
It is whether your blood pressure is adequately controlled.
⚠️ ONE IMPORTANT POINT
Not everybody who has had a stroke should take all of these medicines.
Your treatment depends on:
• whether your stroke was ischaemic or haemorrhagic
• what caused the stroke
• whether you have atrial fibrillation
• your blood pressure
• your cholesterol
• your kidney function
• other medical conditions and medications
So don’t change or stop any medication without discussing it with your doctor, pharmacist or stroke team.
But I would encourage every stroke survivor to understand their meds, why they are on them and how they help.
👉 What is each medication called?
👉 Why am I taking it?
👉 Which risk factor is it treating?
👉 How important is it that I don't miss a dose?
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💊 KNOW YOUR MEDICATIONS AFTER STROKE
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