Volume 49, Issue 1, Book review
Primary and Secondary Stroke Prevention
Faculty of Medicine of the University of Banja Luka published the book “Primary and Secondary Stroke Prevention” by Dr. Siniša Miljković, Prof. Dr. Zoran Vujković and Prof. Dr. Vlado Đajić. The idea for writing this book came from the fact that we live in the time of explosion of cerebrovascular diseases and stroke epidemic with a high degree of disability and mortality.
The authors’ intention was to indicate the most significant risk factors for stroke, the importance of primary prevention and the necessity of secondary prevention in patients who already had a stroke in order to prevent relapse. Treatment of stroke alone is a costly, long-term and of uncertain outcome, and this monograph is the first step in launching a general actions to reduce the number of people affected by this severe illness. The book is written on 537 pages, and the theme is divided into three parts.
In the first part The Ischemic Stroke, data from its history are given as well as the current situation in the world and in our country regarding epidemiological data such as incidence and prevalence, morbidity and mortality, and costs of treatment of stroke. The basic classification of stroke is also highlighted. A special review of the transient ischemic attack as a preinfarction condition is made. Diagnostic methods for the diagnosis of stroke are also described.
The Primary Prevention of Brain Infections is described in the second part, where detailed guidelines for primary prevention, risk assessment tools from the first stroke, and unchangeable and variable risk factors described in details and each individually processed. Strategies for improving prevention are also elaborated. At the very end of this chapter, recommendations for antiaggregation therapy are given.
The third part describes Measures for Secondary Stroke Prevention, which include measures and therapeutic procedures that should be applied after the onset of the first transient ischemic attack, or brain infarction, in order to prevent relapse. Given that risk factors for the occurrence of the first TIA and brain infarction are also risk factors for the recurrence, this chapter presents some of the most common risk factors and recommendations for their control and therapy. The treatment of patients with cardiogenic embolization in the field of atrial fibrillation is also described as well as recommendations for the introduction of oral anticoagulant therapy after hemorrhagic stroke.
This monograph was created as a result of many years of practical work performed by its authors with patients suffering from stroke and based on the systematization of various recommendations of European and world associations with the latest opinions on the prevention of stroke.
Prof. dr Milorad Žikić
