Suffered brainstem minor hematoma, MRI indicates white matter ischemic changes. Prescribed statins. Correct treatment? Stop further strokes?
Patient: My mother suffered a brainstem minor haematoma in April this year. She has made quite good recovery. Her consultant has recently reviewed her MRI and indicated white matter ischaemic changes. He has prescribed statins. Firstly, is this a good first course of actions. Secondly, should we be worried about her cognition and risk of further strokes? I need to help my father and mother understand the issues of which they need to be aware and future management Doctor: Hi,Thank you for posting your query.Your mother has two types of problems in the brain- the first is a hematoma (bleeding), which is often due to high blood pressure. So, her BP needs to be kept under good control to prevent any recurrence of bleeding in the brain.Second problem is the ischemia- lack of blood flow to the brain. This is often due to high sugar, cholesterol, in addition to high BP. So, if these risk factors are present, then, they need to be controlled. Also, in addition to statins, an anti-platelet such as aspirin needs to be started to prevent further strokes and decline in cognition.I hope it helps.Please get back if you require any additional information.Best wishes,Dr Sudhir Kumar MD (Internal Medicine), DM (Neurology)Senior Consultant NeurologistApollo Hospitals, Hyderabad,My personal URL on this website:  http://bit.ly/Dr-Sudhir-kumar My blog: http://bestneurodoctor.blogspot.com/