This Blood Thinner Is More Effective Than Aspirin at Preventing Heart Attacks

Aspirin is one of nan astir wide taken medicines successful nan world, having been recommended for decades arsenic a measurement of protecting against bosom attacks and strokes successful at-risk patients. However, a caller study has revealed that clopidogrel, different commonly utilized humor thinner, aliases anticoagulant, is much effective successful preventing superior bosom attacks and strokes and carries nary further risk.

The uncovering is nan consequence of investigation conducted by an world squad of scientists from nan US, UK, Switzerland, Australia, and Japan. Their activity is simply a meta-analysis—a study that collects and analyzes nan results of aggregate smaller studies, pinch nan purpose of reaching a much reliable conclusion by looking astatine a larger magnitude of data. In total, this meta-analysis looked astatine objective information from astir 29,000 patients diagnosed pinch coronary artery illness (CAD), a information wherever fat builds up successful nan arteries, which tin lead to secondary effects specified arsenic bosom attacks and bosom failure.

The specialists conducted a systematic hunt of aesculapian databases specified arsenic PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Embase to find randomized tests of treatments for CAD published up to April 12, 2025. The purpose was to place papers comparing nan efficacy of aspirin versus clopidogrel successful nan prevention of cardiovascular deaths, bosom attacks, and strokes.

The study focused connected 7 investigations that included objective accusation from persons pinch confirmed cases of CAD treated pinch aspirin aliases clopidogrel for an mean of 2.3 years. After a follow-up of 5.5 years, nan researchers observed that those who received clopidogrel had a 14 percent little consequence of a awesome cardiovascular arena compared pinch those treated pinch aspirin.

Ultimately, nan squad concluded that these findings “add to nan evidence” that clopidogrel is superior to aspirin for preventing awesome adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events. In nan researchers’ view, these findings support utilizing clopidogrel complete aspirin successful patients pinch established CAD to effort to forestall them going connected to person awesome complications arsenic a consequence of their condition, specified arsenic a bosom attack. The findings were published successful nan diary The Lancet.

In position of mortality and bleeding risk, nan meta-analysis concluded that nan rates were akin successful some groups, confirming that clopidogrel is arsenic safe arsenic aspirin.

“To nan champion of our knowledge, clopidogrel monotherapy is nan only antiplatelet curen that has consistently demonstrated greater efficacy than aspirin without compromising safety,” nan researchers wrote successful nan paper.

The find could toggle shape aesculapian guidelines internationally. Clopidogrel is simply a wide available, affordable supplier pinch reliable generic versions, characteristics that would make it easy to incorporated into regular objective practice. Nevertheless, specialists accent that much extended investigation is needed to measure nan cost-effectiveness of clopidogrel and its capacity successful divers populations successful bid to support its inclusion successful curen standards.

Cardiovascular diseases are nan starring origin of decease successful nan world. According to nan World Health Organization, an estimated 17.9 cardinal people dice each twelvemonth from these conditions. More than 4 retired of each 5 of these deaths are owed to coronary bosom illness aliases stroke. The caller investigation suggests that clopidogrel could go a cardinal replacement to combat this nationalist wellness problem, nan incidence of which continues to emergence astir nan world.

This communicative primitively appeared on WIRED en Español and has been translated from Spanish.