PROGNOSIS IN PATIENTS WITH INFARCTION AND TIA IN CAROTID TERRITORY DURING AND AFTER ANTI-COAGULANT THERAPY

One hundred seventeen patients, 31 with TIA and 86 with cerebral infarction, had angiographically verified atherosclerosis within the relevant carotid artery territory and normal CSF. They were treated with anticoagulants for a mean of 11.1 months. No TIA but 1 cerebral infarction, appearing during inadequate anticoagulant therapy, was registered. Seventy-six of the patients, 20 with TIA and 56 with infarction, were followed for a mean of 4.4 months after cessation of anticoagulants or during inadequate anticoagulant treatment. Ten patients, 1 with initial TIA and 9 with initial infarction, developed cerebral infarction necessitating re-institution of anticoagulant therapy. Long-term, anticoagulant treatment can be recommended in carefully selected patients with TIA, and also with infarction in the carotid territory. © 1979 American Heart Association, Inc.