No abstract

Stroke is the leading cause of disability and mortality worldwide. After an acute cerebrovascular ischemia, recurrent vascular events, including recurrent stroke or transient ischemic accidents (TIA), occur in around 20% of cases within the first 3 months. In order to minimize this percentage, antiplatelet therapy may play a key role in the management of non-cardioembolic cerebrovascular events. This review will focus on the current evidence of antiplatelet therapies most commonly discussed in practice guidelines and used in clinical practice for the treatment of stroke/TIA complications. The antiplatelet therapies most commonly used and discussed are as follows: aspirin, clopidogrel, and ticagrelor.

No abstract

Recurrent myocardial infarction (re-MI) is a common event following acute coronary syndrome (ACS), especially during the first year. According to epidemiological studies, patients who experience re-MI are at higher risk of all-cause cardiovascular events and mortality. The cornerstones of re-MI prevention include complete functional coronary revascularization, effective dual antiplatelet therapy and secondary prevention strategies. Notwithstanding this, some controversy still exists on the definition and management of re-MI, and no dedicated studies have been designed or conducted so far in this setting. We here provide an overview of epidemiological and prognostic data on ACS patients experiencing re-MI, along with current available treatment and preventive options.

We assessed the impact on periprocedural myocardial injury of a ticagrelor loading dose given <6 or >6 hours before percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) patients at high risk. All consecutive patients pretreated with ticagrelor and undergoing PCI for a high-risk NSTEMI have been included in the present analysis. Propensity-score matching was performed to compare the outcomes between patients pretreated with ticagrelor for >6 hours or ≤6 hours. The primary outcome was the rate of periprocedural myocardial injury after PCI. We also recorded clinical outcomes, including major adverse cardiovascular events and major bleedings at 1 month. A total of 1216 patients with NSTEMI were deemed eligible for the study: 481 received a ticagrelor loading dose ≤6 hours (mean time, 4.3 ± 1.2 h) and 735 >6 hours (16.1 ± 8.4 hours) before PCI. Patients pretreated with ticagrelor for >6 hours presented more risk factors and comorbidities compared to others. In patients pretreated with ticagrelor for >6 hours, the rate of periprocedural myocardial injury was significantly lower compared to the other group, in the overall population (19.6% vs 37.8%; P < .0001) and in the matched cohort of 644 patients (18.9% vs 33.5%; P < .0001). The rate of major adverse cardiovascular events and major bleeding events did not differ between the two groups, in both unmatched and matched populations. The present study suggests that ticagrelor pretreatment reduces periprocedural myocardial injury in high-risk patients with NSTEMI undergoing PCI with expected time intervals >6 hours.