Background: Patients with dementia have a higher prevalence of leukoaraiosis and cerebral microbleeds, which may be associated with a higher risk for hemorrhagic complications with oral anticoagulant therapy (OAC) prescribed for atrial fibrillation (AF) and thrombolytic treatment of ischemic stroke (IS).
Objective: We aimed to (1) summarize current knowledge about the management of IS in patients with preexisting dementia; (2) assess the risks and benefits of warfarin, antiplatelets, and no treatment in patients with dementia and AF; (3) analyse the characteristics of dementia patients that died from IS and compare them to those who died from other causes.
Methods: In the first study, we reviewed literature on the management of IS. The second and third studies were observational longitudinal analyses of patients registered in the Swedish Dementia Registry. Information on treatment, comorbidities, death was obtained from Swedish nationwide health registers. In the second study, Cox proportional hazards models were used to calculate the risk for IS, intracranial hemorrhage (ICH), any-cause hemorrhage, and death. In the third study, characteristics of patients with dementia dying from IS were assessed.
Results: In the reviewed literature, patients with dementia were less likely to receive intravenous thrombolysis (IV tPA), secondary stroke prevention, different diagnostic procedures, invasive interventions or be admitted on stroke units compared to patients without dementia. OAC with warfarin was associated with lower risk of IS and mortality in patients with dementia. There were no differences in ICH between the treatment with warfarin, antiplatelets or no treatment, with a higher risk for any-cause hemorrhage with warfarin compared to antiplatelets. There were no differences in the use of neuropsychiatric medications between the patients who died from IS and those dying from other causes. More than half of the patients that died from IS as shown in their death certificate had not been registered in the Swedish Stroke Register (Riksstroke) in the year before death.
Conclusions: Patients with dementia are less likely to receive complex management of IS compared to patients without dementia. This study supports the use of warfarin in appropriate cases in patients with dementia. The low percentage of patients on warfarin treatment indicates that further gains in stroke prevention are possible. Concomitant treatment with neuropsychiatric medications for patients with dementia did not influence mortality.
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