A1 Segment- circle of willis

Hi
I recently had a stroke, they did a MRI and it came back A1 Segment in the circle of willis
Which I understand is a blockage of that artery/ vein.
Question is they put me on Plavix and aspirin.
Is the blockage still there? Or has it cleared after the meds?
No one mentioned it too me.

Thanks

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,

Aspirin is a platelet antiaggregant.Its main job is to decrease the risk of stroke recurrence.Plavix is clopidogrel.It is also a platelet antiaggregant.

Aspirin, taken daily in low-to-medium doses (50-325 mg), is an effective and inexpensive first-choice agent for reducing recurrent stroke risk.Similarly,clopidogrel(plavix)is taken to decrease the chance of stroke recurrence.

To decrease the thrombus or emboli, fibrinolytic drugs are to be taken. Tissue plasminogen activator is a fibrinolytic protein and it will reduce the size of thrombus or the blockage.

Pls discuss this alternative with your neurologist as combination of plavix with aspirin has side effects.

In case you need any more information,pls post us.

Take care and regards.

[DrNoopurMD]

Hi,

How are you?
Plavix (clopidrogel) prevents the aggregation of platelets and thus inhibits clot formation.
It is used along with aspirin to prevent thromboembolism.
Generally whenever there is a blockade in an artery or vein, the platelets aggregate around it and form a thrombus. Sometimes parts of this thrombus break away and travel through the blood vessel to other parts of the body to clog the smaller blood vessels. These are called as emboli.
Both these drugs prevent this process. Only a repeat MRI can tell if the clot has dissolved completely or it is still there. Take care!

[kyleauz1]

Thank you for your information.

One question, with this congenital Hypoplastic A1 segment.
Obvisiously it's permanent.
Am I still at risk for another stroke even if I had a Patent forum ovale (heart) closed two months after stroke. Which they think was the cause.
Is this a serious issue- Hypolplastic A1 segment?
Thanks