Courtesy of the SBHCI. This study used the thin strut everolimus eluting stent with ultrathin abluminal bioresorbable polymer coating chromium platinum stent, basically the Synergy stent. Drug release and polymer degradation within four months facilitate endothelization and would allow a shorter DAPT. Presented during the scientific sessions of TCT 2019, this study included 2009 high...
TCT 2019 | TWILIGHT: Minimal DAPT in High Bleeding Risk Patients
Courtesy of the SBHCI. Monotherapy with a P2Y12 inhibitor after a minimum period (3 months) of dual antiplatelet antiaggregation (DAPT) is a valid treatment option to reduce bleeding in patients at high risk of bleeding complications. The present double-blind study presented at TCT 2019 simultaneously published in NEJM analyzed ticagrelor monotherapy (prior 3 months DAPT)...
Balancing Bleeding Risk vs. Thrombotic Risk to Define Dual Antiplatelet Therapy Duration
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, Bleeding and Cardiovascular Events in Healthy Elderly
The ASCEND and ARRIVE trials -presented at the European Cardiology Congress and published in The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) and The Lancet respectively- have put against the ropes the indication of aspirin in the context of primary prevention. The ASPREE trial, recently published in the NEJM, appears to have definitely overthrown aspirin, since...
TCT 2018 | LEADERS FREE II: Polymer-Free DES in Patients at High Risk for Bleeding with 1 Month of Antiplatelet Therapy
This study was aimed at gaining device registration from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for a polymer-free biolimus A9 drug-coated stent (BioFreedom, Biosensors). The study had two purposes: on the one hand, it meant to reproduce the results of the LEADERS FREE trial (published in 2015) in terms of safety and efficacy with...
The Dangerous Combination of Complex Angioplasty and High Bleeding Risk Seems to Have a Solution
The LEADERS FREE trial demonstrated that a polymer-free Biolimus A9-coated stent (BioFreedom™DCS; Biosensors Europe, Morges, Switzerland) is superior to a conventional stent (bare metal stent, BMS) in patients with high bleeding risk treated with only one month of dual antiplatelet therapy. Now, is this global study outcome applicable in cases of complex lesions with several...
NSAIDs and Risk of Bleeding in Patients with Atrial Fibrillation
The use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) is very frequent and many of these medications are sold over-the-counter, but they can expose patients with atrial fibrillation using warfarin or dabigatran to potentially dangerous bleeding. Such a combination is a “perfect storm” of sorts, since atrial fibrillation is the most frequent type of arrhythmia and its...
EuroPCR 2018 | LEADERS FREE: Complex Angioplasty in Patients with High Risk for Bleeding
The LEADERS FREE study showed that a biolimus A9-coated polymer-free stent was superior to a conventional stent in terms of safety and efficacy in patients who received dual antiplatelet therapy for only a month due to their high risk for bleeding. In this substudy, researchers analyzed 667 patients enrolled in the original LEADERS FREE trial who met certain requirements...
ACC 2018 | TREAT: Ticagrelor + Fibrinolytics’ Effect on Bleeding
Ticagrelor seems as safe as clopidogrel in patients undergoing ST elevation MI treated with fibrinolytics, at least in terms of TIMI major bleeding at 30 days. Longer follow up will help determine whether there are differences in efficacy or safety issues, as stated by the presenter Otavio Berwanger. This study was presented at ACC 2018 scientific sessions...
Ischemic and Bleeding Risk After Primary Angioplasty
Patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction who undergo primary angioplasty are at high risk for both ischemic and bleeding events, which affect significantly both morbidity and mortality. An optimal selection of antithrombotic therapies in terms of strength and duration must take into account the timing for the procedure, since the risk for these complications may...