New guidelines recommend heart attack patients take anti-clotting drug for longer period

New UK guidelines recommending extended treatment with an anti-clotting drug that prevents heart attacks and strokes looks likely to benefit thousands.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has published draft guidelines suggesting that people who have had a heart attack or stroke should continue to take 60mg of the drug ticagrelor with aspirin to reduce the risk of any further cardiovascular events.

Although a higher dose of the drug (around 90mg) is already prescribed for 12 months to heart attack and stroke sufferers, they were previously advised to take aspirin alone after this time. However, this new guidance recommends continuing with the lower dose for a further three years.

The anti-clotting drug is used because blood clots are responsible for causing heart attacks and strokes and people who have already had one are at a higher risk of having another.

NICE said thousands of patients would reap the benefits of the new recommendation, which comes at a cost of £2 per daily dose.

Professor Carole Longson MBE, Director at NICE said: “Despite the availability of effective secondary prevention treatments, as many as a quarter of people who have had a heart attack go on to have another heart attack or stroke – often with devastating consequences. In provisionally recommending ticagrelor we are pleased to be able to increase the treatment options available to the many thousands of people who stand to benefit from it.”

Because information on the efficacy and safety of ticagrelor, particularly the risk of bleeding, beyond three years is limited, the draft guidance does not recommend treatment with it beyond that period. Consultees have until 5th September 2016 to comment on the preliminary guidance.

One of the most used medicines. Full medical glossary
A fluid that transports oxygen and other substances through the body, made up of blood cells suspended in a liquid. Full medical glossary
The basic unit of all living organisms. Full medical glossary
Blood that has coagulated, that is, has moved from a liquid to a solid state. Full medical glossary
The death of a section of heart muscle caused by an interruption in its blood supply. Also called a myocardial infarction. Full medical glossary
intermittent claudication Full medical glossary
One of a class of drugs that inhibit cholesterol formation in the liver. Full medical glossary
Any sudden neurological problem caused by a bleed or a clot in a blood vessel. Full medical glossary
Relating to blood vessels. Full medical glossary