Antithrombotic therapy

Current guidelines recommend dual antiplatelet therapy preferably with prasugrel or ticagrelor for 12 months in patients after acute coronary syndrome with stent implantation. Problems occur in patients with a need for oral anticoagulation, such as patients with atrial fibrillation. In these patients a combination of oral anticoagulation and platelet inhibitors is necessary. Antithrombotic combination therapy is known to increase bleeding complications. In a small randomized trial the combination of a vitamin K antagonist (VKA) and clopidogrel decreased bleeding compared to triple therapy with VKA, clopidogrel and aspirin. The new oral anticoagulants have consistently been shown to decrease bleeding complications compared to VKAs regardless of additional antiplatelet therapy. Because of the lack of randomized trials the individual decision about the intensity and duration of antithrombotic combination therapy should be based on the bleeding and ischemic risk in the individual patient. However, in most patients in addition to oral anticoagulation, antiplatelet monotherapy preferably with clopidogrel seems necessary only for 3-6 months.