Ticagrelor not superior to aspirin for reducing composite of stroke, myocardial infarction, death
TUESDAY, May 10, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Ticagrelor is not superior to aspirin for patients with acute ischemic stroke or transient ischemic attack, according to a study published online May 10 in the New England Journal of Medicine to coincide with the 2nd European Stroke Organisation Conference, held from May 10 to 12 in Barcelona, Spain.
S. Claiborne Johnston, M.D., Ph.D., from the University of Texas in Austin, and colleagues conducted an international trial in 674 centers in 33 countries involving 13,199 patients with non-severe ischemic stroke or high-risk transient ischemic attack. Within 24 hours after symptom onset, patients were randomized to receive either ticagrelor or aspirin through 90 days.
The researchers found that a primary end point event (stroke, myocardial infarction, or death with 90 days) occurred in 6.7 percent of those treated with ticagrelor versus 7.5 percent of those treated with aspirin (hazard ratio, 0.89; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.78 to 1.01) during the 90 days of treatment. Ischemic stroke occurred in 5.8 and 6.7 percent of those treated with ticagrelor and aspirin, respectively (hazard ratio, 0.87; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.76 to 1.00). Major bleeding occurred in 0.5 and 0.6 percent of patients treated with ticagrelor and aspirin, respectively.
“In our trial involving patients with acute ischemic stroke or transient ischemic attack, ticagrelor was not found to be superior to aspirin in reducing the rate of stroke, myocardial infarction, or death at 90 days,” the authors write.
The trial was funded by AstraZeneca, the manufacturer of ticagrelor.
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