CardioExchange Archive

March 14th, 2015

DAPT ‘Approaching the Point of Diminishing Returns’?

Larry Husten, PHD

After a myocardial infarction (MI), patients remain at high risk for recurrent events. The precise role of dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) to lower this risk has been the subject of considerable disagreement.  Now a new study offers fresh evidence that prolonged DAPT can lower risk over a long period, but only at the cost of […]

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November 16th, 2014

Prolonged Dual Antiplatelet Therapy Affirmed in DAPT

Larry Husten, PHD

The advent of drug-eluting stents dramatically reduced the restenosis rate associated with bare-metal stents but prompted new concerns about the rare but potentially lethal complication of stent thrombosis (ST). Cardiologists have relied upon dual antiplatelet therapy to prevent ST but there has been considerable uncertainty and controversy about the ideal duration of therapy. The Dual Antiplatelet […]

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November 3rd, 2014

Selections from Richard Lehman’s Literature Review: November 3rd

Richard Lehman, BM, BCh, MRCGP

This week’s topics include dual-antiplatelet treatment beyond one year after DES implantation, reappraisal of thienopyridine pretreatment in patients with non-ST elevation acute coronary syndrome, and more.

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December 23rd, 2013

Selections from Richard Lehman’s Literature Review: December 23rd

Richard Lehman, BM, BCh, MRCGP

This week’s topics include dual-antiplatelet therapy after zotarolimus-eluting stents, low-dose dopamine or low-dose nesiritide in acute HF with renal dysfunction, and more.

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November 25th, 2013

Selections from Richard Lehman’s Literature Review: November 25th

Richard Lehman, BM, BCh, MRCGP

This week’s topics include DAPT cessation and coronary events after PCI, statins and cognitive function, and more.

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October 31st, 2013

Does OPTIMIZE Reveal the Optimal DAPT Time Frame?

Richard A. Lange, MD, MBA and L. David Hillis, MD

Rick Lange and David Hillis pose several important questions triggered by the OPTIMIZE findings.

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October 21st, 2013

Refining the Optimal Duration of Dual Antiplatelet Therapy After DES Implantation

Cheol-Whan Lee, MD and Seung-Jung Park, MD.,Ph.D

Cheol Whan Lee and Seung-Jung Park discuss their study group’s randomized trial comparing dual antiplatelet therapy with aspirin alone beyond 12 months after drug-eluting stent implantation.

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June 26th, 2013

Some Patients with Minor Stroke or TIA May Benefit from Early Clopidogrel and Aspirin

Larry Husten, PHD

Some people with minor ischemic stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA) may benefit from dual antiplatelet therapy with aspirin and clopidogrel, according to a large new study from China published in the New England Journal of Medicine. In the immediate period following a TIA or minor stroke, people are at high risk for having a major stroke. Aspirin […]

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November 4th, 2012

ARCTIC Blows a Cold Wind on Platelet Function Tests

Larry Husten, PHD

The use of platelet-function tests to monitor and guide antiplatelet therapy in PCI patients has sparked heated debate. Cardiologists have sought to reconcile biological plausibility with the absence of clinical evidence. Now the ARCTIC (Assessment by a Double Randomization of a Conventional Antiplatelet Strategy versus a Monitoring-guided Strategy for Drug-Eluting Stent Implantation versus Continuation One […]

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September 19th, 2012

Studies Examine Less Burdensome Dual Antiplatelet Regimens

Larry Husten, PHD

Two new studies published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology offer hope but not, yet, compelling evidence to support less burdensome requirements for dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) after drug-eluting stent (DES) implantation. In the first study, Spanish investigators followed 1622 consecutive patients who received a DES for 1 year. They found that 10.6% of the patients interrupted […]

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