Among people with Alzheimer Disease, the risk of developing a stroke is significantly greater if they are using antiepileptic drugs, according to a large study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association.
- The Medication Use and Alzheimer’s Disease cohort, which includes all the people in Finland who have been clinically diagnosed with Alzheimer disease (70,718) from 2005 to 2011, was analyzed to look for a correlation between the disease and antiepileptic drug use.
- Patients who had used the medications were about 37% more likely to have experienced a stroke, compared to nondrug users (hazard ratio [HR], 1.37).
- The likelihood of having a stroke in this patient population was greatest during the first 3 months of taking antiepileptic medication (HR, 2.36).
- The association between drug use and ischemic stroke was less than that observed between drug use and hemorrhagic stroke (HR, 1.34 vs 1.44).
Sarycheva T, Lavikainen P, Taipale H, et al. Antiepileptic Drug Use and the Risk of Stroke Among Community-Dwelling People with Alzheimer Disease: A Matched Cohort Study. J Am Heart Assoc. 2018; 7: e009742. DOI: 10.1161/JAHA.118.009742.
