Easing Blood Flow And Preventing Stroke

Worldwide, 5 million people die each year following a stroke and another 5 million are left permanently disabled. Many factors make strokes more likely but having artificial heart valves increases risk significantly. Artificial heart valves are seen by the body as foreign objects and they act as a magnet for platelets. As a layer of platelets builds up on the surface of an artificial heart valve, a cascade reaction is set off that causes a blood clot to form.

Blood clotting is one of the body's most useful defence systems but when it goes into overdrive inside the blood vessels it can become one of the most dangerous. If part of a blood clot breaks off, it can travel to the brain and get stuck in a narrow artery, cutting off the blood supply to the parts of the brain beyond. Without oxygen, brain tissue dies very quickly and a stroke occurs. Using dipyridamole to ease blood flow past artificial heart valves and to damp down the blood clotting process is a life-saver.

How dipyridamole controls platelets

The standard method of preventing strokes in people with artificial heart valves is to treat them with dipyridamole tablets in combination with warfarin or aspirin, usually for life. Dipyridamole is an anti-platelet medication that reduces the ability of platelets to stick to each other. If platelets are less sticky, they are less able to attach to the surface of the heart valve and initiate a blood clot.

Dipyridamole for people who have had strokes

Dipyridamole is also useful for people who may not have artificial heart valves but who have had a mild stroke in the past and who have a tendency to experience transient ischaemic attacks. These short episodes occur when blood vessels within the brain narrow suddenly, restricting the blood supply to key areas of the brain. Taking daily dipyridamole reduces the frequency of ischaemic attacks and prevents any that do still occur from causing a full-blown stroke.

The benefits of liquid dipyridamole

Oral dipyridamole comes in different forms that can be taken several times a day, or there is an extended release tablet that can be taken once a day. This regulates the amount of active dipyridamole released into the blood over the next 24 hours. People who have had a stroke may find swallowing tablets difficult and can benefit from liquid dipyridamole, which is available as an almond flavoured sugar-free syrup.

Liquid dipyridamole can also be useful for people who just hate swallowing pills. It is not just patients with medical dysphagia that can have trouble - many people feel their throat closing up when they even think about taking pills. The anxiety caused by having to take tablets each day can be distressing.

For those affected, it is far better to switch formulation than to miss treatments or stop taking their medication altogether. Maintaining daily dipyridamole treatment could mean the difference between life and death.