Fast Assessment of Stroke and Transient Ischemic Attack to Prevent Early Recurrence (FASTER)

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.

Timeline

Start

2003-05

Primary completion

—

Completion

2007-02

Publications

• Background Palumbo V, Eliasziw M, Buchan AM, on behalf of the FASTER Investigators. Urgent Stroke Imaging is also Feasible for Secondary Prevention Trial. 28th International Conference on Stroke and Cerebral Circulation, American Heart Association Stroke Conference. Clinical Trials Abstract. Accepted as Poster Presentation. 2003
• Background Kennedy J, Eliasziw M, Buchan AM on behalf of the FASTER Collaborators. The Fast Assessment of Stroke and Transient ischemic attack to prevent Early Recurrence (FASTER) Trial. 28th International Conference on Stroke and Cerebral Circulation, American Heart Association Stroke Conference. Clinical Trials Abstract. http://www.strokeconference.org/sc_includes/pdfs/CTP24.pdf Accepted as Poster Presentation. 2003
• Background Kennedy J, Eliasziw M, Hill MD, Buchan AM. The Fast Assessment of Stroke and Transient ischemic attack to prevent Early Recurrence (FASTER) Trial. Seminars in Cerebrovascular Diseases and Stroke, March 2003 Ed. J. Biller. Vol 3/1 pp 25-30. 2003
• Background Kennedy J, Eliasziw M, Buchan AM on behalf of the FASTER Investigators. The Fast Assessment of Stroke and Transient ischemic attack to prevent Early Recurrence (FASTER) Trial. 29th International Conference on Stroke and Cerebral Circulation, American Heart Association Stroke Conference. Clinical Trials Abstract. Accepted as Poster Presentation. 2004
• Background Kennedy J, Ma C, Buchan AM. FASTER prevention, fastest neuroprotection. Pharmacology of Cerebral Ischemia, Proceedings of the Marburg Conference 2004. Ed. J Krigelstein. (In Press)
• Background Kennedy J, Buchan AM on behalf of the FASTER Investigators. The Fast Assessment of Stroke and Transient ischemic attack to prevent Early Recurrence (FASTER) Trial. 30th International Conference on Stroke and Cerebral Circulation, American Heart Association Stroke Conference. Clinical Trials Abstract. Accepted as Poster Presentation. 2005
• Background Eliasziw M, Kennedy J, Hill MD, Buchan AM, Barnett HJ; North American Symptomatic Carotid Endarterectomy Trial Group. Early risk of stroke after a transient ischemic attack in patients with internal carotid artery disease. CMAJ. 2004 Mar 30;170(7):1105-9. doi: 10.1503/cmaj.1030460.
• Kennedy J, Hill MD, Ryckborst KJ, Eliasziw M, Demchuk AM, Buchan AM; FASTER Investigators. Fast assessment of stroke and transient ischaemic attack to prevent early recurrence (FASTER): a randomised controlled pilot trial. Lancet Neurol. 2007 Nov;6(11):961-9. doi: 10.1016/S1474-4422(07)70250-8. Epub 2007 Oct 10.

Drugs

Indications