In addition to aspirin, Ticagrelor offers better prognosis in patients that already had a stroke and have a high-risk cardiovascular profile. These benefits should be correctly balanced seeing as they are not free of risk. Antiplatelet therapy makes part of the standard treatment of cardiac or cerebrovascular patients. Ticagrelor has shown superior to clopidogrel in...
ESC 2021 | ISAR-REACT 5: Prasugrel Superior to Ticagrelor in ACS across Kidney Function Spectrum
When we have to choose between two potent P2Y12 receptor inhibitors for a patient undergoing ACS with a planned invasive strategy, kidney function should not interfere in this decision. The main findings of this study were that prasugrel has lower risk of all cause death, MI or stroke, and also had a similar risk of...
Ticagrelor or Prasugrel for Acute Patients Who Undergo Angioplasty
We are still asking the same question: ticagrelor or prasugrel? With narrow margins between these drugs in terms of efficacy and bleeding, it is difficult to decide which to prescribe. While it has certain methodological limitations, this research published in JAMA seems to clarify the picture at least for patients with acute coronary syndromes who...
ACC 2021 | TALOS-AMI: De-escalating from Ticagrelor to Clopidogrel after One Month
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...
Back to Basics: Ticagrelor Questioned and Clopidogrel in the Limelight
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...
Net Clinical Benefit of Long-Term Ticagrelor
Ticagrelor reduces ischemic risk in patients with a history of acute myocardial infarction, but it increases the risk of bleeding. Keeping a delicate balance is paramount when prescribing long-term ticagrelor to patients with a history of infarction. The PEGASUS-TIMI 54 study randomized 21,162 patients with a history of infarction on a 1:1:1 ratio: some received ticagrelor...
Ticagrelor: Yet Another Pleiotropic Effect?
Studies in animals have shown ticagrelor offers better myocardial protection against reperfusion injury after ST elevation MI than clopidogrel. This had to be tested in the clinical arena, which is the aim of this study (published in JACC Intv): to assess left ventricular remodeling after reperfusion. The study included patients undergoing their first ST elevation...
Ticagrelor or Prasugrel in ST Elevation MI
In patients undergoing ST elevation acute myocardial infarction (STEMI) receiving primary PCI, no significative differences between prasugrel and ticagrelor were found. However, the latter was associated to a significantly higher number of repeat MI when considered separately. Few studies have compared the efficacy and safety of the two most potent oral P2Y12 receptor inhibitors in...
TCT 2020 | Ticagrelor Monotherapy After ST-Segment Elevation Infarction
Ticagrelor monotherapy after 3 months of dual antiplatelet therapy in patients who experienced ST-segment elevation infarction significantly reduces major bleeding without increasing ischemic risk. This pre-specified analysis of the TICO study shows that ticagrelor monotherapy is safe even in patients with higher ischemic risk. Interrupting aspirin use after 3 months of dual antiplatelet therapy and continuing treatment...
Diabetes Could Decide between Ticagrelor and Prasugrel
Diabetes has an impact on the relative effect of ticagrelor and prasugrel in patients undergoing acute coronary syndrome (ACS) according to a recent analysis of the ISAR-REACT 5 published in JACC Intv. Similarly to the main study outcomes, this sub-analysis of the ISAR-REACT 5 has shown that the combined end point of death, MI or...