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Cerebral Microbleeds and Macrobleeds: Should They Influence Our Recommendations for Antithrombotic Therapies?

  • Stroke (C Sila, Section Editor)
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Abstract

Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH, or macrobleeds) and cerebral microbleeds—smaller foci of hemosiderin deposits commonly detected by magnetic resonance imaging of older adults with or without ICH—are both associated with an increased risk of future ICH. These hemorrhagic pathologies also share risk factors with ischemic thromboembolic conditions that may require antithrombotic therapy, requiring specialists in cardiology, internal medicine, and neurology to weigh the benefits vs hemorrhagic risks of antithrombotics in individual patients. This paper will review recent advances in our understanding of hemorrhage prone cerebrovascular pathologies with a particular emphasis on use of these markers in decision making for antithrombotic use.

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Acknowledgments

Dr. Greenberg and Dr. Gurol have research grant funding from the National Institute of Health (NIH 5RO1NS070834-03, 5R01AG026484, NIH 5 P50NS051343-08).

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Conflict of Interest

Kellen E. Haley declares that she has no conflicts of interest. Steven M. Greenberg declares that he has no conflicts of interest. M. Edip Gurol declares that he has no conflicts of interest.

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This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Boston University, Boston, MA, USA

    Kellen E. Haley

  2. Hemorrhagic Stroke Research Program, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

    Kellen E. Haley, Steven M. Greenberg & M. Edip Gurol

  3. Massachusetts General Hospital, Stroke Service, 175 Cambridge Street #300, Boston, MA, 02114, USA

    M. Edip Gurol

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  1. Kellen E. Haley
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  2. Steven M. Greenberg
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  3. M. Edip Gurol
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Correspondence to M. Edip Gurol.

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Haley, K.E., Greenberg, S.M. & Gurol, M.E. Cerebral Microbleeds and Macrobleeds: Should They Influence Our Recommendations for Antithrombotic Therapies?. Curr Cardiol Rep 15, 425 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11886-013-0425-8

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