Usefulness and effectiveness of herbal medicines in stroke: Narrative review

Stroke causes various disabilities, reducing the quality of life and motivation for life. It is also one of the major causes of death in the aging population. Therefore, prevention and treatment are crucial. In conventional medicine, thrombolysis and various surgical techniques have been developed and used to treat stroke, but, despite the advancements and benefits, many patients still experience various disabilities. In East Asian countries, herbal prescriptions have been widely used for the treatment and prevention of stroke. Recently, the efficacy of herbal complexes as an adjunct to conventional treatment has been suggested. Numerous reports have been published in various fields from acute stroke management to chronic stroke rehabilitation and stroke prevention. Here, we review the herbal complexes used for acute phase treatment, to recover motor function, and those used for post-stroke sensory disturbances such as central post-stroke pain and complex regional pain syndrome. Furthermore, we review the herbal complexes used for post-stroke psychiatric symptoms such as emotional incontinence, post-stroke depression, and post-stroke insomnia, and those used for cognitive dysfunction, dysphagia, and urinary and defecation problems. Furthermore, in most cases, both Western medicines and herbal complexes have been used together. To reflect on this situation, we investigate the safety of herbal complexes combined with anticoagulants. Moreover, we investigate the possibility of using herbal complexes to combat the problems that could occur during conventional treatment such as with antibiotics. Finally, we review the efficacy of herbal complexes for stroke prevention.