Deepak Bhatt, MD: Guidance on Antiplatelet Therapy in Diabetics with CAD

Few areas have seen the level of change and advance in recent years as antiplatelet therapy.

The field has seen monumental shifts from changes in the use of aspirin and the emergence of impressive data relating to agents such as ticagrelor (Brilinta) and rivaroxaban (Xarelto). As such, antiplatelet therapy the newest scientific statement from the American Heart Association (AHA), titled “Clinical Management of Stable Coronary Artery Disease in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus,” sought to provide clinicians guidance for treatment of patients with both CAD and type 2 diabetes.

The first section listed under the Management of Stable CAD, the antiplatelet therapy portion of the document contains insights related to aspirin and clopidogrel, ticagrelor, rivaroxaban, and platelet function testing. Written by the AHA’s Council on Lifestyle and Cardiometabolic Health and Council on Clinical Cardiology, the statement also addresses areas of disease management including blood pressure control and lipid management.

Among the highlights of the antiplatelet therapy include insights on the applicability of results from major clinical trials including COMPASS and THEMIS. The statement also warns of the lack of benefit seen among trials examining use guided therapy using platelet function testing.

For a better understanding of the AHA’s latest scientific statement, advances in antiplatelet therapy, and how information in the statement can be applied to clinical practice, HCPLive® caught up with Council on Lifestyle and Cardiometabolic Health and Council on Clinical Cardiology Vice Chair Deepak Bhatt, MD, executive director of Interventional Cardiovascular Programs at Brigham and Women’s Hospital.

This scientific statement, “Clinical Management of Stable Coronary Artery Disease in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus,” was published online in Circulation.