When people have serious heart conditions, doctors often perform a special procedure called percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) to open up clogged heart arteries. After this, patients usually take two types of medicine to prevent blood clots: aspirin and ticagrelor.
But a recent study has shown that taking just ticagrelor and dropping aspirin a month after the procedure can be safer and reduce bleeding problems without increasing any heart risks.
This significant discovery came from the ULTIMATE-DAPT study, shared at an important meeting of heart experts and published in a reputable medical journal. The study was unique because it specifically looked at patients who were at high risk of having a heart attack again.
It compared two groups: one that took both aspirin and ticagrelor, and another that took ticagrelor with a placebo (a dummy pill that has no effect) starting one month after their heart procedure.
What the researchers found was remarkable. Those who stopped taking aspirin and continued with only ticagrelor had more than a 50% reduction in bleeding, which is a serious concern for heart patients.
Plus, there was no increase in heart attacks, strokes, or other heart-related problems in this group compared to those who kept taking both medicines.
This finding is a big deal because it challenges the current standard where patients are advised to stay on both medications. The study’s lead, Dr. Gregg W. Stone, believes this should change.
He explained that for most patients who have had a serious heart condition, taking a single powerful medication like ticagrelor after the first month could be a better approach.
The study involved over 3,400 patients from 58 medical centers across four countries, making it quite comprehensive. These patients had all undergone PCI because of blocked arteries in their heart.
A month after the procedure, when they were stable, half were switched to just ticagrelor and the other half continued on both ticagrelor and aspirin. The researchers kept an eye on these patients for a year to see how they fared.
They found that patients on ticagrelor alone had a significantly lower risk of bleeding, a common and dangerous side effect of blood-thinning medications.
And when it came to serious heart events like death, heart attack, or needing another heart procedure, the two groups had similar outcomes.
This showed that aspirin might not be necessary for these patients after the first month, challenging previous beliefs that stopping blood thinners too soon could lead to more heart problems.
This research could lead to big changes in how doctors treat heart patients after PCI. By potentially moving to a single medication strategy with ticagrelor, patients could see fewer side effects without compromising their heart health.
This approach not only simplifies treatment but could also improve the quality of life for millions of high-risk heart patients around the world, showcasing the power of rethinking and updating medical practices based on new evidence.
If you care about heart disease, please read studies about a big cause of heart failure, and common blood test could advance heart failure treatment.
For more information about heart health, please see recent studies about a new way to repair human heart, and results showing drinking coffee may help reduce heart failure risk.
The research findings can be found in The Lancet.
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