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JAMA Cardiology Clinical Guidelines Synopsis
September 2016

Focused Update on Duration of Dual Antiplatelet Therapy for Patients With Coronary Artery Disease

Author Affiliations
  • 1Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
  • 2Harvard Clinical Research Institute, Boston, Massachusetts
  • 3University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
  • 4University of North Carolina Center for Heart and Vascular Care, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
JAMA Cardiol. 2016;1(6):733-734. doi:10.1001/jamacardio.2016.2171

The combination of aspirin and platelet P2Y12 receptor inhibitor therapy (ie, DAPT) reduces the risk of recurrent ischemia following ACS and reduces risk of stent thrombosis following coronary stenting regardless of clinical presentation, yet it increases the risk of bleeding. Until recently, there have been few randomized controlled trials (RCTs) assessing the duration of treatment.

The ACC/AHA Task Force on Clinical Practice Guidelines issued this focused update1 (summarized in the eFigure in the Supplement), which was subject to the same level of rigor as their full guidelines, and was approved for publication by the governing bodies of the ACC/AHA. It was developed in collaboration with the American Association for Thoracic Surgery (AATS), the American Society of Anesthesiologists, the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions (SCAI), the Society of Cardiovascular Anesthesiologists, and the Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) and was endorsed by Preventive Cardiovascular Nurses Association (PCNA) and the Society for Vascular Surgery. All guideline writing committee members disclosed industry relationships and abstained from work on sections for which they had any relevant relationship with industry.

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