Switching of Oral Anticoagulation Therapy After PCI in Patients With Atrial Fibrillation

Identification of Molecular Markers Predicting the Outcome of Anti-thrombotic Therapy After Percutaneous Coronary Intervention in Patients with Acute Coronary Syndrome and Atrial fibrillation: Evidence from a Meta-analysis and Experimental Study

Acute coronary syndrome (ACS) and atrial fibrillation (AF) often coexist in clinical practice, and patients with these conditions often have a critical illness with high risk of both ischemia and bleeding. This study aims to report potential molecular markers for predicting the efficacy based on a meta-analysis of microarray data from the GEO database. In 40 patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) and atrial fibrillation (AF) treated with PCI, P2RX1's effects on platelet aggregation, medication resistance, and predictive value were examined. Twenty up-regulated genes in peripheral blood samples of ACS and AF patients were down-regulated after PCI, while 7 down-regulated genes were up-regulated. ACS affected eight potential genes. P2RX1, one of the four LASSO analysis-retrieved disease characteristic genes, accurately predicted AF patients' thrombosis risk and PCI's anti-thrombotic impact. Therefore, P2RX1 may be a molecular marker to predict the effect of anti-thrombotic therapy in patients with ACS and AF after PCI.

Antithrombotic Management in AF Patients Following Percutaneous Coronary Intervention: A European Perspective

AF is a highly prevalent disease, often requiring long-term oral anticoagulation to prevent stroke or systemic embolism. Coronary artery disease, which is common among AF patients, is often referred for myocardial revascularisation by percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), which requires dual antiplatelet therapy to minimise the risk of stent-related complications. The overlap of AF and PCI is a clinical conundrum, especially in the early post-procedural period, when both long-term oral anticoagulation and dual antiplatelet therapy are theoretically indicated as a triple antithrombotic therapy. However, stacking drugs is not a desirable option because of the increased bleeding risk. Several strategies have been investigated to mitigate this concern, including shortening triple antithrombotic therapy duration and switching to a dual antithrombotic regimen. This review analyses the mechanisms underlying thrombotic complications in AF-PCI, summarises evidence surrounding antithrombotic therapy regimens and reports and comments on the latest European guidelines.

Comparison of early clinical outcomes between dual antiplatelet therapy and triple antithrombotic therapy in patients with atrial fibrillation undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention

Background and objective

Most Asian patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) who undergo percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) receive only dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) without oral anticoagulants (vitamin K antagonists [VKA] or non-VKA oral anticoagulants [NOAC]). However, it has not been fully investigated whether the DAPT results in better clinical outcomes in the early period after PCI than the standard triple therapy with VKA or NOAC.

Methods

We analyzed the claims records of 11,039 Korean AF population who had PCI between 2013 and 2018. Patients were categorized according to the post-PCI antithrombotic therapy as VKA-based triple therapy (VKA-TT), NOAC-based triple therapy (NOAC-TT), and DAPT groups. After baseline adjustment using inverse probability weighting, we compared the risks of ischemic endpoints (ischemic stroke, myocardial infarction, and all-cause mortality) and major bleeding at 3 months post-PCI.

Results

Ischemic stroke, MI, and all-cause mortality occurred in 105, 423, and 379 patients, respectively, and 138 patients experienced major bleeding. The DAPT group was associated with a lower risk of ischemic stroke and major bleeding (hazard ratio [HR] 0.55, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.37–0.84) compared to the VKA-TT group, despite no significant differences in the risks of MI and all-cause mortality. In contrast, the DAPT group demonstrated no significant difference in the risks for ischemic endpoints compared to the NOAC-TT group. Additionally, the DAPT group had a numerically lower risk of major bleeding than the NOAC-TT group but this was not statistically significant (HR 0.69, 95% CI 0.45–1.07).

Conclusions

An outcome benefit of DAPT was observed in the early period after PCI compared to the VKA-TT, but not against NOAC-TT users among the Asian AF population. Given the potential long-term benefits of NOACs, greater efforts should be made to increase compliance in clinical practice with proper combination therapy with NOAC after PCI.

Antithrombotic Management for Patients with Atrial Fibrillation Undergoing Percutaneous Coronary Intervention

Comprehensive protection of a patient with atrial fibrillation (AF) should not only reduce the risk of stroke and systemic embolism, but also reduce the risk coronary events and ensure high adherence to treatment. In accordance with consensus document issued by the European Heart Rhythm Association, European Society of Cardiology, European Association of Percutaneous Cardiovascular Interventions, as well as with other recent Russian Society of Cardiology Guidelines, the management of antithrombotic therapy of patients with AF undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) requires that multiple and interconnected issues. The review article addresses questions about duration of initial triple antithrombotic therapy (TAT), selection of P2Y12 inhibitor, choice of oral anticoagulant to be combined with antiplatelet therapy, intensity of oral anticoagulation throughout combination therapy, and choice of oral anticoagulant for indefinite therapy. In general, it is recommended to refuse the routine use of TAT for most patients. Accordingly, for patients who need both anticoagulant and antiplatelet therapy, it is strongly recommended that the default strategy after recent PCI is a double antithrombotic therapy consisting of an anticoagulant and one antiplatelet, preferably from the group of P2Y12 inhibitors. When conducting combined antithrombotic therapy, preference should be given to clopidogrel compared to other, more powerful P2Y12 inhibitors and direct oral anticoagulant (DOAC) instead of vitamin K antagonists. The primary choice of DOAC in patients with AF who have undergone PCI should be carried out taking into account such factors as individual risk of stroke and bleeding, adherence to treatment, concomitant diseases, pharmacological characteristics and evidence base of a specific DOAC, taking other medications, etc. The pharmacokinetic features of rivaroxaban, which create the possibility of its single administration, the evidence base for reducing coronary risks in various variants of the course of coronary heart disease, determines the special positions of the drug for the comprehensive protection of patients with AF after PCI.

Choices in antithrombotic management for patients with atrial fibrillation undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention: questions (and answers) in chronological sequence

In accordance with the 2018 joint consensus document issued by the European Heart Rhythm Association (EHRA), European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Working Group on Thrombosis, European Association of Percutaneous Cardiovascular Interventions (EAPCI), and European Association of Acute Cardiac Care (ACCA), and endorsed by the Heart Rhythm Society (HRS), Asia-Pacific Heart Rhythm Society (APHRS), Latin America Heart Rhythm Society (LAHRS), and Cardiac Arrhythmia Society of Southern Africa (CASSA), as well as with other recent ESC Guidelines, the management of antithrombotic therapy of patients with atrial fibrillation undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention requires that multiple and interconnected issues, including, duration of initial triple antithrombotic therapy, selection of P2Y12 inhibitor, choice of oral anticoagulant to be combined with antiplatelet therapy, intensity of oral anticoagulation throughout combination therapy, and choice of oral anticoagulant for indefinite therapy, are addressed. To assist the responsible physician in clinical decision making, a series of practical questions are proposed and discussed in the chronological sequence they should likely be answered.