Cramp drug 'better than aspirin' for reducing stroke risk

A drug more commonly used to treat muscle cramps has been found to be highly effective at preventing strokes.

Researchers at the Harvard Medical School found that taking anti-clotting drug cilostazol reduces the risk of having a stroke by a quarter and the possibility of experiencing dangerous side affects by one-half.

One of the major issues of concern with taking a daily dose of aspirin, as many in Britain do at the moment to reduce their stroke risk, is the possibility of a haemorrhage, but cilostazol significantly reduces the chances of one occurring.

Reacting to the news, the Stroke Association's director of communications Joe Korner told the Daily Telegraph that aspirin use does indeed increase the risk of a haemorrhage, albeit very slightly.

He continued: "The findings of this study are interesting and it's positive to see that alternative treatments to aspirin may be available in the future.

"We'd be really interested to see the results of further research in larger and more diverse study populations."

Find the nearest Barchester care home.