Aspirin versus P2Y12 inhibitors for secondary prevention after percutaneous coronary intervention

Abstract

Currently, percutaneous coronary intervention with a drug-eluting stent implantation is the main method of myocardial revascularization in tertiary care hospitals, regardless of the clinical presentation of coronary artery disease. It is well known that to be effective, it requires the use of a dual antiplatelet therapy, which is a combination of acetylsalicylic acid and a P2Y12 platelet receptor inhibitor, which plays a key role in preventing thromboses after endoprosthesis implantation and is also indicated to prevent atherothrombotic events in the late clinical course, regardless of the stent model used. After a variable period of time, depending on some factors, such as the clinical presentation of coronary artery disease and the type of stent implanted, this therapy is discontinued, and the main current guidelines recommend interrupting the P2Y12 receptor inhibitor and maintaining acetylsalicylic acid in the long term, as one of the main pharmacological measures for secondary prevention of atherosclerosis. However, recently, due to their greater antiplatelet potency and probable lower potential for significant bleeding, especially in the digestive tract, P2Y12 inhibitors have been considered a valid and attractive option as an antiplatelet agent for long-term use; but this alternative has not been endorsed by guidelines yet. This review discusses the details related to this important decision that must be made by cardiologists when discontinuing the different antithrombotic therapies initially used after percutaneous coronary intervention. In principle, the scarcity of conclusive and normative clinical studies, especially in the population treated by percutaneous intervention, means that acetylsalicylic acid is the only antiplatelet agent with class I indication for secondary prevention of atherosclerosis.