Cilostazol for treatment of cerebral infarction

Introduction: Stroke not only causes critical disability and death but is also a cause of anxiety with the possibility of secondary cardiovascular events including secondary ischemic stroke. Indeed, patients with a history of previous stroke have a high rate of stroke recurrence, indicating the clinical importance of secondary stroke prevention.Area of covered: This review provides an overview of the pooled evidence for cilostazol's use in the management of secondary stroke prevention. Among the various antiplatelet agents that are available, aspirin is the most frequently used agent worldwide for the prevention of secondary stroke. Cilostazol, a selective phosphodiesterase (PDE) 3A inhibitor, is used worldwide for the treatment of patients with intermittent claudication. However, in Asia, cilostazol is recommended and used in practice for secondary stroke prevention.Expert opinion: The authors believe that cilostazol could be used for secondary stroke prevention not only in Asia but worldwide. However, further randomized trials on cilostazol are needed, especially in the US and Europe to better support its case.