Monterey, CA Heart Disease Victims Having Stent Implants Would Be Well Served To Continue On Blood Thinners For A Long Time, Says New Harvard Study

Millions of Americans who have had stents placed in them to fight heart disease should stay on an aggressive course of blood thinners for a long period of time, according to a new research report. The study looked at 10,000 patients with stents that were treated with aspirin plus a second anticlotting drug for 30 months. They showed a sharp reduction in heart attacks versus those that stopped using the blood thinners after just one year. However, the flip side is that prolonged use of blood thinners can result in significant bleeding problems. Some patients complain of easy bruising and nose bleeds as well. These side effects, however, may be worth it if the alternative is having a massive heart attack. Current guidelines in the U.S. call for the dual-antiplatelet therapy for 12 months and some cardiologists have argued for an even shorter time frame. After this study (which was conducted at Harvard associated Brigham and Young Hospital and published in the New England Journal of Medicine), however, this plan may have to be revisited. Those staying on the medicine longer were 53% less likely to have a heart attack. Also notable is that 55% of the avoidable heart attacks were due to clots in arteries without the stent, suggesting the blood thinners were helping in arteries in which the patient and doctor may not even have been aware that there was a problem.