BACKGROUND Among the 3 approved oral P2Y12 inhibitors for the treatment for patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS), ticagrelor, but not prasugrel or clopidogrel, has been associated with off-target properties, such as improved endothelial-dependent vasomotion and increased adenosine plasma levels. METHODS The HI-TECH study (NCT02587260) is a multinational, randomized, open-label, crossov...

BACKGROUND In patients with non-ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndromes, inhibition of platelet aggregation (IPA) with a potent P2Y12 inhibitor, ticagrelor, was inferior to tirofiban infusion at 2 hours, indicating that glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitors are still needed. Ticagrelor and eptifibatide bolus only may maximally inhibit platelet aggregation and decrease bleeding, but IPA with ti...

BACKGROUND Diabetes mellitus (DM) is associated with enhanced platelet reactivity and impaired response to oral antiplatelet therapy, including clopidogrel. This post hoc analysis investigated the pharmacodynamic effects of ticagrelor versus clopidogrel loading dose (LD) in troponin-negative acute coronary syndrome patients with or without DM undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention in the...

OBJECTIVE In this study, a systematic evaluation was conducted to estimate the efficacy and safety of ticagrelor for treating acute coronary syndrome (ACS) in general ACS patients and a diabetes mellitus (DM) group. METHODS A search of PubMed, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Web of Science, CNKI databases was conducted to analyze relevant randomized controlled trails (RCTs) of...

OBJECTIVES The PLATO (Platelet Inhibition and Patient Outcomes) angiographic substudy sought to compare the efficacy of ticagrelor versus clopidogrel with respect to angiographic outcomes before and after PCI in the setting of acute coronary syndrome. BACKGROUND Greater platelet inhibition has been associated with improved angiographic outcomes before and after percutaneous coronary intervent...

Aims: Dual platelet inhibition using anti-P2Y12 drugs and aspirin is the standard of care in patients after percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI). Prasugrel and ticagrelor have been shown to be more potent than clopidogrel with less high on-treatment platelet reactivity. Whether differences in long-term adherence to these drugs can partly explain different antiplatelet efficacy has not been...

BACKGROUND Ticagrelor may be a more effective antiplatelet therapy than aspirin for the prevention of recurrent stroke and cardiovascular events in patients with acute cerebral ischemia. METHODS We conducted an international double-blind, controlled trial in 674 centers in 33 countries, in which 13,199 patients with a nonsevere ischemic stroke or high-risk transient ischemic attack who had no...

We have read with great interest the report by Franchi et al. (1) on escalating loading-dose regimens of ticagrelor in primary percutaneous intervention (PPCI), and the investigators should be praised for their significant contribution to this important field. In the initial years of PPCI, IIb/IIIa inhibitors, especially abciximab in combination with unfractionated heparin, aspirin, and clopido...

BACKGROUND Variation in and irreversibility of platelet inhibition with clopidogrel has led to controversy about its optimum dose and timing of administration in patients with acute coronary syndromes. We compared ticagrelor, a more potent reversible P2Y12 inhibitor with clopidogrel in such patients. METHODS At randomisation, an invasive strategy was planned for 13 408 (72.0%) of 18 624 patie...

Ticagrelor, a novel reversible antiplatelet agent, has a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) black box warning to avoid maintenance doses of aspirin (ASA) >100 mg/daily. This restriction is based on the hypothesis that ASA doses >100 mg somehow decreased ticagrelor's benefit in the Platelet Inhibition and Patient Outcomes (PLATO) U.S. cohort. However, these data are highly postrandomized, come f...