Harvard researchers have discovered that a drug used to prevent clotting and to treat muscle cramps protects against stroke better than aspirin. Cilostazol (Pletal) gives “prevention beyond the protection provided by aspirin,” researchers said in London’s Telegraph. In addition to providing protection against stroke, the drug cut the risk of side effects.

Studies have shown that a daily aspirin can reduce the risk of a stroke caused by a blood clot by 25 percent. But aspirin comes with a risk of bleeding. In the Harvard study, 2,757 patients who had already had a stroke were divided into two groups. One group was given aspirin and the other took cilostazol. The cilostazol group suffered 26 percent fewer strokes than the aspirin group, and incidences of severe bleeding were cut in half.

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