Ticagrelor use in stroke patients: Past, present, and future

Abstract

Antiplatelet medications are the mainstay for secondary stroke treatment. Aspirin, clopidogrel, and aspirin-dipyridamole are commonly used antiplatelet medications. Other antiplatelet medications such as ticagrelor and prasugrel have been majorly used in cardiovascular or neuro-interventional specialties. Recent studies have paved a way to their use in secondary stroke prevention. In this review, we have briefly discussed the pharmacology of ticagrelor, published literature in cardiology and stroke trials, use of ticagrelor among patients with ischemic strokes, and compared its efficacy, limitations and side-effects with other antiplatelet medications.