Short dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) has shown benefits in patients receiving drug eluting stents (DES), reducing bleeding with no concomitant increase in major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE). Traditionally, the therapeutic window was limited to monotherapy with P2Y12 inhibitors during the first year and there are few data on short DAPT followed by long term monotherapy...
The preference for the use of potent P2Y12 inhibitors such as ticagrelor and prasugrel in patients with high risk of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is based on randomized studies and current guideline recommendations. However, clopidogrel is still recommended for patients at high risk of bleeding. Several strategies have been looked...
An increasing number of patients currently present both an elevated ischemic risk and hemorrhagic risk. This means that the selection of the optimal antiplatelet treatment is a clinical challenge. Several studies have shown that P2Y12 monotherapy after minimum dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) is a novel strategy to reduce bleeding risk without increasing ischemic risk. Furthermore,...
Currently, many randomized studies have suggested that short-term dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) followed by monotherapy reduces bleeding without increasing major cardiovascular events after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). A meta-analysis of six randomized studies has shown this benefit using ticagrelor monotherapy after short DAPT. However, there is no data on the results of clopidogrel monotherapy. Researchers...
Compared with patients with chronic coronary syndromes, patients with acute coronary syndromes (ACS) are more likely to suffer from long term major adverse cardiac events (MACE). To prevent this, both the American and the European guidelines recommend prolonging dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) in this population for at least 12 months. However, in patients with certain clinical...
One month ago we shared a meta-analysis stating aspirin (ASA) as the best antiplatelet following TAVR vs. 3 to 6 dual antiplatelet therapy suggested by guidelines. At that time, guideline recommendations appeared obsolete. Several studies had started to support ASA monotherapy as the best antiaggregation scheme after TAVR. However, in the light of this new...
Clopidogrel monotherapy after dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) was associated with reduced mortality, MI, stroke, and other events in patients receiving PCI compared against aspirin monotherapy (ASA). This information was provided by the Korean HOST-EXAM study, presented at ACC 2021 scientific sessions, and simultaneously published in the Lancet. Researchers followed patients for 2 years and observed...
After one-month dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) with aspirin and ticagrelor, a net clinical benefit was observed when de-escalating to clopidogrel in acute myocardial infarction (AMI) patients treated with PCI. We have discussed the pros and cons of de-escalating from a potent antiplatelets Such as ticagrelor to clopidogrel since the TOPIC presented at EuroPCR in 2017. What...
Yet another observational study has come to question the antiaggregation power of ticagrelor when it comes to death or MI reduction, pointing at its higher risk of bleeding vs. clopidogrel. This new analysis recently published in JAHA includes a large number of patients undergoing acute coronary syndrome (ACS) in the clinical practice. Ticagrelor has been...
High risk patients undergoing elective PCI treated with a more potent antiplatelet scheme (ticagrelor) vs. the classic clopidogrel do not see a benefit in protection against periprocedural events and instead see increased costs and minor bleeding rate. These are the outcomes of the ALPHEUS study presented at AHA 2020 simultaneously published in the Lancet. Ticagrelor...