Forget about heparin to treat ischemic stroke

That was the message of a session on stroke care at Internal Medicine 2009. That's pretty widely accepted by now, or should be. But what if the patient's stroke is believed to be of cardioembolic origin, say, in the setting of atrial fibrillation?

Evidence suggests that there is no rush to give heparin in most patients with a cardioembolic source of stroke, said Dr. Kasner. He recommended waiting 48 hours in patients with minor strokes and five to seven days for major strokes.