The chances of getting an NHS CT head scan quickly enough to decide whether it’s safe to give clot busting drugs aren’t so good at the moment.
I think a cerebral embolus may still be more likely than a cerebral haemorrhage, so aspirin seems logical. Maybe I’ll ask my GP …..
I should say I’m not having a stroke, this is just a theoretical question.
Phew, what a question Bill! It's a very important one to know the answer to as well. I'd certainly be dialling 999 if I thought I was having a stroke, but whether to take that dose of aspirin - well I really don't know. Will look forward to the replies you get.
Jean
From my experience with my TIA a few years ago I wasn’t capable of ringing anyone Jean! It’s was the strangest sensations and the only way I can describe it was it felt like I was in an alternative reality but just couldn’t function properly. I was straight into the scanner though.
Just lucky my lovely neighbour found me wandering in the road and knew there was something seriously wrong with me so rang an ambulance. They did not automatically give me asprin in A&E until they were fairly certain in was a TIA as symptoms were very similar to my neurological condition. was straight into the scanner though and then to the stroke unit.
Interestingly enough though when Paramedics thought I was having an MI when I had COVID - asprin, nitro spray and morphine straight away.
Thanks for that info CD. I know all strokes are completely different. I know of someone who lost his sight after a stroke. Helping to run a nursing home when I worked made me very aware of how much a stroke can affect someone physically. Thank goodness your neighbour saw you in the road. It's something I dread happening, would rather drop dead than be left completely disabled by one. I think paramedics are wonderful, have always felt completely looked after by them. They really give you their attention whereas hospital doctors are so busy going from one person to another.
I must admit I don't have aspirin in my house. My first thought would be 999.
My TIA was more subtle and I might not even have gone to the doctors if I had not been able to write except in squiggles the next day. But there was this sense of disconnect especially between my brain and my mouth - even though I had absolutely no slurring of speech. It was weird.
I was the same but I wouldn’t have been able to use the phone in the acute phase or take an aspirin. That phase only lasted minutes though so I would have been able to do both within about 10 minutes. X
Lots of medical decisions we are having to ask ourselves given the current NHS issues. I was having a discussion earlier with my husband re a stroke emergency action if needed. I can see the hospital from here which houses our stroke unit but it no longer has an a and e dept. For a number of years that hospital service has been transferred to the north west of this large city, whereas the hospital housing the stroke unit is in the south west area where I live.
To get to our only a and e dept I would have to literally drive passed the hospital housing the stroke unit to get to a and e. The Stroke unit is one mile away and a few minutes in the car. The a and dept is ten miles away through the city centre and out the other side.
Dilemma is would we go to the stroke unit direct and would they see us or would we travel ten miles to a and e to be seen then transferred nine miles back to the stroke unit. Just imagine the difference to outcome that could mean in a real live situation maybe the difference between life and death or a good outcome or major disability. All this allegedly for cost and efficiency reasons. What a mess we are in.
It’s a reasonable question - I’ll be interested in the recommendation as well.
I am not advising this but my friend had what I thought was a stroke, I called 999 there was a two hour wait in which time as a retired registered nurse I took a chance and gave her 300 mg of soluble aspirin as she could still swallow. She made a full recovery without clot busters in a and e!
Home 5 days later on 300 mg of soluble aspirin for 1 month
Who knows what to do with this nhs crisis
Fortune favours the brave👏
Hi Bill.
I don't think there's one size fits all with much depending on the type of stroke. The most important thing is to receive quick medical help - which of course may not always be possible.
I'll put a paste below, but sorry I can't help further.
Paul
It's important to note that aspirin should not be used to treat a stroke unless it has been specifically recommended by a healthcare professional. Aspirin can be helpful in preventing further blood clots from forming in people who have already had a stroke or a transient ischemic attack (TIA), also known as a "mini-stroke." However, in the case of a hemorrhagic stroke, which is a type of stroke caused by bleeding in the brain, aspirin can increase the risk of bleeding and should be avoided. Time is of the essence when it comes to stroke treatment, as the sooner treatment is given, the better the chances of a full recovery.
Thanks for the post and the replies. The safest route seems to be scan first then aspirin/other if a bleed. The problem now is the delay in getting the scan. My wife has had a TIA, has med for high BP, still not sure if I would recommend Aspirin 300mg if she had another TIA and was faced with a long delay before a scan.
Difficult question especially as you put it in the context of failing to get prompt urgent NHS treatment which makes all the difference with a stroke. When I had my stroke two years ago in France I was taken from home to the hospital 30 miles away and had a scan straight away and treatment within a couple of hours max, which makes ALL the difference. But if you are likely to be just stuck in an ambulance or waiting room, or worse left at home suffering, what should the best course of action be?
Aspirin of course is not very effective as an anticoagulant anyway. It would be safer to take a further dose of Apixaban or Eliquis or similar, although both would do more harm than good if you were suffering from a bleed in the brain rather than an ischaemic (blood clot) stroke.
My advice for what is at worth is to somehow get yourself down to accident and emergency by taxi and have a large poster ready prepared with 'I AM HAVING A STROKE. I NEED URGENT CARE TO SAVE MY LIFE!' printed on it. Sitting in the waiting area with this might just prompt some action.
Joking apart, I was dismayed to hear the story from the UK of a patient suffering from a stroke who stayed in the ambulance over night and in the morning was told treatment was a waste of time as by then it would do no good, and all the brain damage would have been done and be irreparable.
That is a terrible story. One of the reasons why I will not set foot in the UK now - too worried about the availability of prompt medical treatment. I was telling my GP about the problems with ambulances A&E and telephone appointments there . He was horrified and said it gave him " mal au coeur " that such things should be happening.
Two types of stroke. One a clot the other a bleed on the brain.
The treatment for each condition is completed opposite.
Pete
Thank you all for your replies. I suspect it is probably unreasonable to expect any doctor to give anything other than standard NICE guidance, even with the current poor standard of acute NHS care. I would however hope for up to date evidence to allow me to make my own decision in the scenario I have described in the OP above.
Anticoagulants give only a 60% reduction in risk of ischaemic stroke in AF. I will take aspirin if it seems probable that a CT scan will not be available within 4 hours.
I was struck by the words “immediate self treatment” in the article below
anticoagulant with cavernoma
AF and dementia issues
1st Pulmonary Vein Ablation completed.
4 days in and now I’m out of AF : should I be careful for a period of time or carry on regardless 
How are all the folk who had ablations in April and May?
