News - Hypertension Week of June 15, 2003/ Vol. 2 No. 24

Study: Aspirin Better for African Americans in Preventing a Second Stroke

Aspirin is as effective as the clot-inhibiting drug ticlopidine in preventing a second stroke for African Americans, according to a study reported in the June 11 issue of the American Medical Association.

The study involved 1,809 African American stroke patients from over 60 sites in the United States who received daily doses of either 650 mg of aspirin or 500 mg of ticlopidine. The researchers found that 12.3 percent of those taking aspirin suffered either another stroke or myocardial infarction or died due to vascular causes compared to 14.7 percent of those taking ticlopidine.

"The study shows that aspirin is probably a better choice than ticlopidine for recurrent stroke prevention in African Americans," said Dr. John Marler, associate director for clinical trials research at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS).

For those who can tolerate it, Marlar said aspirin is readily available, inexpensive and easy to administer, unlike ticlopidine, which can also cause serious side effects.

African Americans have nearly twice the risk of whites of having a stroke or dying from a stroke and have a higher prevalence of stroke and cardiovascular disease risk factors such as hypertension, diabetes mellitus, obesity and smoking.

The FDA approved ticlopidine for clinical use in the early 1990s to reduce the risk of fatal or non-fatal stroke in patients with stroke risk factors and in patients who had a completed thrombotic stroke.

Other sources: National Institutes of Health