Association between Antiplatelet Therapy and Changes in Intraplaque Hemorrhage in Patients with Mild to Moderate Symptomatic Carotid Stenosis: A Longitudinal MRI Study

Carotid atherosclerotic intraplaque hemorrhage (IPH) predicts stroke. Patients with a history of stroke are treated with antiplatelet agents to prevent secondary cardiovascular events. A positive association between previous antiplatelet use and IPH was reported in a cross-sectional analysis. We investigated the changes in IPH over 2 years in patients who recently started versus those with continued antiplatelet use.