Antiplatelet drug discontinuation is a risk factor for ischemic stroke.

Antiplatelet drugs (APD) are widely used in the prevention of ischemic cardio- and cerebrovascular diseases. The authors studied the frequency of stroke occurring after APD discontinuation, the cause of discontinuation, and the delay between APD disruption and stroke. Only 4.49% of strokes were related to a recent APD discontinuation, but all cases occurred between 6 and 10 days after drug discontinuation (p < 0.0001). This temporal pattern has biologic plausibility because the inhibited platelets circulate in the blood for about 10 days.