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...
Courtesy of Dr. José Álvarez. In patients at high bleeding risk with drug-eluting stents, the duration of dual antiplatelet therapy has been subjected to ongoing review. Guidelines from the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) and the American College of Cardiology (ACC) suggest shortening this treatment to a maximum of three to six months (Class IIb)....
The 1-month outcomes of dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) followed by clopidogrel monotherapy were comparable to 12-month DAPT in patients with both simple and complex PCI. There was no significant interaction between DAPT period and procedure difficulty. This is a post hoc study of the STOPDAPT-2 that looked at the complex PCI patient subgroup. It is...
Antiplatelet therapy is key to prevent thrombotic events after a transient ischemic attack (TIA) or ischemic stroke. The role of aspirin is well established in this scenario, but there is emerging evidence for a short period of dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT). Now, can this strategy avoid recurrent strokes without paying a price in terms of...
The current guidelines recommend dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) 3 to 6 months after transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVI). Some recent data finally condensed in the present meta-analysis and recently published in JAHA happen to challenge these guidelines. Clinical studies that investigated single antiplatelet therapy versus DAPT until November 2020 were analyzed and divided according to...
Courtesy of the SBHCI. This is the first randomized study comparing a durable-polymer drug-eluting stent (zotarolimus-eluting stent Onyx) and a polymer-free drug-eluting stent (biolimus-A9-coated stent BioFreedom), with only one month of dual antiplatelet therapy in patients at high risk for bleeding. Onyx ONE was a study conducted at 84 sites that randomized 1:1 2000 total patients at...
Non-adherence to dual antiplatelet therapy varies with age and patients older than 75 years old are those who discontinue treatment most frequently. However, this characteristic in elderly patients was not associated with more cardiovascular events. Treatment compliance protected patients younger than 75 years old from events, while there was increased cardiovascular risk among this population...
Patients who undergo complex angioplasty are at higher ischemic risk, but only benefit from extended dual antiplatelet therapy if there are no factors for high bleeding risk. These data suggest that the bleeding risk must weigh more than the ischemic risk on the determination of dual antiplatelet therapy duration. Complex angioplasty is associated with higher...
Aspirin is against the ropes: first, it was primary prevention; now, its use is being reconsidered even in relation to angioplasty. There might be paradigm changes as regards antiplatelet therapy after angioplasty. These two studies presented at the American College of Cardiology (ACC) 2019 Scientific Session can really change what we have been doing unquestioningly...
Optical coherence tomography (OCT)-guided drug-eluting stent implantation improves early strut coverage compared with angiography-guided angioplasty. No difference was observed in terms of strut coverage between permanent-polymer everolimus-eluting stents and bioresorbable-polymer biolimus-eluting stents. Short-term dual antiplatelet therapy may be feasible in selected patients with early strut coverage. This study sought to measure early strut coverage...