Beyond Survival: Stroke Strategies and Long-Term Cognitive Outcomes Cognitive impairment remains a major long-term consequence of stroke, affecting nearly one-third of survivors. This large population-based study analyzed over 6,500 patients to evaluate how preventive and acute stroke care strategies influence cognitive outcomes over a 10-year period. The findings highlight that combined preventive therapies—particularly antihypertensives, lipid-lowering agents, and anticoagulants —are strongly associated with reduced risk of cognitive decline .
In patients with atrial fibrillation, risk reduction reached up to 82% with anticoagulation and 77% with statins at 5 years. Even among those without atrial fibrillation, meaningful benefits were observed, though these effects diminished over time. Importantly, patients receiving optimal combined therapy demonstrated consistently better…
