Antiplatelet therapy may be safe in ischemic stroke patients with cerebral microbleed

OBJECTIVE: We examined whether antiplatelet therapy is safe for ischemic stroke patients with cerebral microbleed. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed ischemic stroke patients admitted to our hospital from 2015 to 2018. Baseline information was extracted from the computerized database. Adverse events, including symptomatic cerebral hemorrhage, recurrent cerebral infarction, and death, were collected by phone. RESULTS: A total of 184 ischemic stroke patients were examined, including 106 with and 78 without cerebral microbleed. No patient experienced symptomatic cerebral hemorrhage after discharge. Patients with cerebral microbleed had a higher prevalence of hypertension (92% vs 74%) and suffered from more serious leukoaraiosis (3.0 ± 1.7 vs 1.3 ± 1.4 points on the Fazekas scale). Leukoaraiosis scores were correlated with the number of cerebral microbleeds (r = 0.42). CONCLUSIONS: Antiplatelet therapy may be safe for ischemic stroke patients with cerebral microbleed. The risk-benefit ratio should be carefully evaluated before withholding antiplatelet therapy.