No difference in platelet response, cardiovascular events with 50 or 100 mg aspirin for five years
MONDAY, Aug. 22 (HealthDay News) -- Patients with coronary heart disease undergoing treatment with 50 or 100 mg aspirin for five years showed no difference in platelet response or cardiovascular (CV) events, according to a study published in the Sept. 1 issue of The American Journal of Cardiology.
Robert Berent, M.D., from the Center for Cardiovascular Rehabilitation in Bad Schallerbach, Austria, and colleagues investigated whether long-term treatment with 50 and 100 mg aspirin affects platelet response in a similar manner. A total of 100 patients with coronary heart disease were randomly assigned to receive either 50 or 100 mg aspirin with serial monitoring over five years. Platelet sensitivity to aspirin, prostacyclin, and adenosine diphosphate-, collagen-, and epinephrine-induced platelet aggregation was evaluated and occurrence of CV events was documented. β-thromboglobulin and inflammatory markers were also measured.
The investigators found that 10 patients died and four were lost to follow-up. Eleven patients had nonfatal CV events. Platelet response to aspirin and the referenced variables remained unchanged over five years in both groups. No difference in platelet response to aspirin was found in the last monitoring interval in patients who developed CV events. Compared to patients without CV events, patients with nonfatal and fatal CV events showed increased inflammatory markers independent of the dosage of aspirin they received.
"Our study revealed no difference in antiplatelet response to aspirin 50 mg versus 100 mg, or CV events over five years in patients with coronary heart disease," the authors write.
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