The therapeutic value of laboratory testing for hypercoagulable states in secondary stroke prevention.

Although screening for hypercoagulable states is commonly performed as part of the evaluation of first arterial ischemic stroke in young adults, available evidence does not support this as a routine practice, even in patients with cryptogenic stroke and a positive family history of early thrombotic events or in patients with a patent foramen ovale. Testing for antiphospholipid antibodies is a possible exception because persistent antibodies are associated with an increased risk of recurrent stroke. Despite the lack of supporting data, screening for hypercoagulable states in recurrent early-onset cryptogenic cerebral ischemia could be considered.