Immediate stroke treatment (while a stroke is happening, or soon after a stroke has occurred) includes attempts to dissolve blood clots or stop the bleeding of a hemorrhagic stroke.

After a stroke, medication is often prescribed to prevent blood clots. Antithrombotics and thrombolytics medications are often used.

Sometimes treating a stroke means treating the heart. The reason is that various kinds of heart disease can contribute to stroke risk. For example, damaged heart valves may need to be surgically treated or treated with anti-clotting drugs to reduce the chance of clots forming around them. Blood clots can also form in hearts with atrial fibrillation. This is a type of abnormal heart rhythm called an arrhythmia. If clots form in the heart or the valves, there's a chance they can travel to the brain and cause a stroke.

Be sure to check with your doctor on stroke treatments.

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