Fast Assessment of Stroke and Transient Ischemic Attack to Prevent Early Recurrence (FASTER)
Status:
Completed
Trial end date:
2007-02-01
Target enrollment:
Participant gender:
Summary
Current management of patients with TIA (transient ischemic attack) or minor stroke includes
the prompt investigation and treatment in the days and weeks after the event. However, new
evidence shows patients are at the highest risk of stroke in the first few days after the
TIA, with 50% of strokes which happen in the three months following TIA occurring within
48-72 hours. To date, there is no evidence to guide physicians on how to safely reduce this
risk.
The FASTER trial is focusing on the initial period of high risk, starting patients on stroke
prevention treatments in the hours following a TIA or minor stroke. The drugs to be tested
have been shown to be effective in the similar setting of cardiology, reducing recurrent
cardiac events in patients with unstable angina when commenced with the same speed after an
event.
All patients will be on aspirin. The trial will see if adding another drug, clopidogrel, has
an additional benefit in reducing the number of strokes after TIA or minor stroke within
three months of TIA or minor stroke. It will also look if the very early introduction of
simvastatin, a cholesterol lowering therapy, reduces stroke after TIA or minor stroke, both
by itself and in addition to clopidogrel. The final aim of the trial is to ensure that these
treatments are safe to be used in this population of patients.
Phase:
Phase 2/Phase 3
Details
Lead Sponsor:
University of Calgary
Collaborators:
Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Canadian Stroke Consortium (CSC)