Data on Heart Attack Reported by Researchers at National Taiwan University (Single and dual antiplatelet therapy in elderly patients of medically…

Drug Week

Data on Heart Attack Reported by Researchers at National Taiwan University (Single and dual antiplatelet therapy in elderly patients of medically managed myocardial infarction)

By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Drug Week -- New research on Heart Disorders and Diseases - Heart Attack is the subject of a report. According to news reporting from Taipei, Taiwan, by NewsRx journalists, research stated, "To examine the comparative effectiveness between dual and single antiplatelet therapies in real-world, medically managed elderly patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI). This retrospective study identified very elderly (> 85 years) patients, who were medically managed, with their first AMI from the Taiwan National Health Insurance claims database from 2007 to 2010."

The news correspondents obtained a quote from the research from National Taiwan University, "Patients were classified as dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) group, aspirin only group and clopidogrel only group. Study outcomes included all-cause death, cardiovascular death and gastrointestinal bleeding. Treating DAPT group as the reference, we employed a multivariable Cox regression model to compare the relative risks of outcomes between 3 groups using pairwise comparison approach. Among 1469 patients with incident ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI, 14%) or non-STEMI (86%), 390 patients were prescribed DAPT, 549 aspirin only, and 530 clopidogrel only. After 9 months of follow-up, aspirin only group had similar risks of all-cause death (adjusted HR 1.21, 95% CI 0.77-1.89, p = 0.41), cardiovascular death (adjusted HR 1.16, 95% CI 0.66-2.04, p = 0.60) and gastrointestinal bleeding (adjusted HR 1.66, 95% CI 0.77-3.57, p = 0.20) in comparison with DAPT group. Clopidogrel users had a higher risk of all-cause death (adjusted HR 1.50, 95% CI 1.00-2.25, p = 0.049) but similar risks of cardiovascular death and gastrointestinal bleeding when compared with DAPT. Among very elderly patients who were medically managed after AMI, single antiplatelet therapy had comparable protective effect as DAPT."

According to the news reporters, the research concluded: "But clopidogrel only strategy was associated with a higher risk of all-cause death."

For more information on this research see: Single and dual antiplatelet therapy in elderly patients of medically managed myocardial infarction. BMC Geriatrics, 2018;18():1-8. BMC Geriatrics can be contacted at: Biomed Central Ltd, 236 Grays Inn Rd, Floor 6, London WC1X 8HL, England. (BioMed Central - www.biomedcentral.com/; BMC Geriatrics - www.biomedcentral.com/bmcgeriatr/)

Our news journalists report that additional information may be obtained by contacting C.L. Lai, National Taiwan University, Inst Epidemiol & Prevent Med, Coll Public Hlth, Taipei, Taiwan. Additional authors for this research include H.Y. Lai, K.A. Chan, Y.Y. Yang, T.T. Lin and M.S. Lai (see also Heart Disorders and Diseases - Heart Attack).

Keywords for this news article include: Taipei, Taiwan, Asia, Digestive System Diseases and Conditions, Vascular Diseases and Conditions, Platelet Aggregation Inhibitors, Heart Disorders and Diseases, Gastrointestinal Bleeding, Cardiovascular Research, Coagulation Modifiers, Myocardial Infarction, Health and Medicine, Drugs and Therapies, Antiplatelet Agents, Fibrinolytic Agents, Clopidogrel Therapy, Myocardial Ischemia, Gastroenterology, Pharmaceuticals, Aspirin Therapy, Heart Disease, Heart Attack, Cardiology, National Taiwan University.