Stroke and Aspirin Therapy

I was reading somewhere the other day that aspirin was used for prevention of strokes and wondered if it was used more for it's anti-platelet or anti-inflammatory effects. Aspirin was used at one point for it's anti-inflammatory effects (not for stroke, but more for arthritis), but there was gastric irritation and possible bleeding associated with it. That was also due to it's high dosage in the past (two tablets three times a day). Now, it is taken usually once a day for its anti-platelet effects. Aspirin alters platelet function by suppressing two factors required for platelet aggregation: thromboxane and prostaglandins. By disrupting platelet aggregation, aspirin is able to thin the blood and therefore, reduce the possibility of blockages in the vessels that could lead to an ischemic stroke or even a heart attack. An interesting fact that I discovered was that Plavix functions the same way as aspirin, but it is prescribed because in clinical studies, it was proven to be an even better anti-platelet aggregator than aspirin because it acts on a different receptor.

Sources:
http://www.stroke.org/site/DocServer/NSAFactSheet_SecondaryStrokeRisk_7-09.pdf?docID=7064
Grau, Armin J. et. al. "Platelet Function Under Aspirin, Clopidogrel, and Both After Ischemic Stroke"" Stroke 34.12 (2003): 849-55.