Medication after cerebral infarction is to prevent recurrence of the disease, and recovery depends on persistent exercise

Recently, several patients with cerebral infarction have consulted Huazi about medication. There are two main types of questions. One is how to take medication after a cerebral infarction occurs. The other is how long to take the medication after a cerebral infarction and when can it be stopped?

Huazi said that these two questions are actually the same thing, which is about the drug treatment of cerebral infarction. It should be made clear that the purpose of medication is to prevent the recurrence of cerebral infarction, but it is of little help in improving the sequelae. There is no "magic drug" that can cure the sequelae. The recovery of cerebral infarction can only be achieved through long-term exercise.

1. The medication for cerebral infarction is to prevent recurrence. There are two main causes of cerebral infarction. The main reason is atherosclerosis of the arteries in the head and neck. The rupture of hardened plaques induces platelet aggregation to form thrombi, causing blood vessel blockage. Another reason is heart disease caused by various reasons, causing left atrial fibrillation, slowing blood flow in the atrium, and easily coagulating to form wall thrombi. After falling off, emboli will form, blocking smaller cerebral arteries.

Once atherosclerosis is formed, it cannot be completely cured and there is still a risk of rupture. If atrial fibrillation cannot be completely eliminated, wall thrombi will continue to form. Therefore, the recurrence rate of cerebral infarction is very high. After the first cerebral infarction, the recurrence rate within 5 years is about 40%.

Therefore, people who have had cerebral infarction must take preventive measures. Depending on the cause of cerebral infarction, cerebral infarction caused by atherosclerosis requires the use of statins and aspirin. Statins can stabilize plaques to prevent rupture. In case of rupture, aspirin can also inhibit platelet aggregation and prevent the formation of blood clots. Cerebral infarction caused by atrial fibrillation requires anticoagulation therapy to prevent blood from clotting in the atrium to form wall thrombi.

Because the cause of the disease cannot be completely eliminated, the medication after cerebral infarction needs to be taken for a long time and cannot be stopped to continuously produce protective effects. In addition, the "three highs" chronic diseases such as high blood pressure, high blood lipids, and high blood sugar also need to be controlled by medication. Because chronic diseases cannot be cured, only continuous medication can avoid the harm of the disease to the body and prevent the aggravation of atherosclerosis or atrial fibrillation.

2. Recovery from sequelae requires rehabilitation treatment. Some patients ask Huazi, what medicine can cure the sequelae caused by cerebral infarction? This answer may disappoint everyone, because there is no medicine to treat the sequelae of cerebral infarction. The reason for the sequelae of cerebral infarction is that cerebral infarction causes the death of brain nerve cells, resulting in the loss of central function. Once the brain nerve cells die, there is currently no medicine that can regenerate them.

Although brain nerve cells cannot regenerate, there is still hope for the recovery of lost brain functions. The reason is that other normal brain nerve cells can produce compensatory functions and re-establish the functional center. However, the production of compensatory functions is not something that can be achieved overnight. It requires long-term rehabilitation training to achieve it.

The recovery process is very difficult. A simple action before the disease may require thousands of times of practice to be relearned after the disease. This is just like a baby learning to talk and walk. It requires repeated stimulation to establish a new neural reflex circuit in the healthy brain nerve cells and restore the lost function.

On the road to recovery, those who have successfully recovered are all people with outstanding willpower. However, some people take detours during the rehabilitation exercise, resulting in incorrect movements such as swinging legs and drawing circles, or over-exercise due to a rush to recover, causing secondary damage to the body. Therefore, it is recommended that people with sequelae of cerebral infarction find a regular rehabilitation doctor to help them develop a rehabilitation exercise plan and perform rehabilitation exercises under the guidance of a doctor.

To sum up, different drugs are used after cerebral infarction according to the different causes of cerebral infarction, but the purpose of medication is to avoid the recurrence of cerebral infarction, and long-term medication is needed to produce a better protective effect. For the treatment of sequelae of cerebral infarction, drugs are ineffective, and long-term rehabilitation exercises under the guidance of a doctor are the only way to recover. I am pharmacist Huazi, welcome to follow me and share more health knowledge.