Coronary Stents and Chronic Anticoagulation

Abstract

Case Presentation: A 76-year-old man was admitted with retrosternal chest pain. The ECG on admission showed inferolateral ST depression, and troponin levels were elevated, confirming the diagnosis of an acute coronary syndrome. The patient had a history of hypertension and aortic valve replacement with a metallic bileaflet valve 7 years before. He was being treated with warfarin and low-dose aspirin and had an international normalized ratio (INR) of 2.5. Coronary angiography revealed a long subocclusive lesion of the proximal right coronary artery. At that point, there was a question about the optimal treatment for this patient regarding the type of stent to be selected and the need for future combined antiplatelet and anticoagulation treatment. Oral anticoagulation was routinely used for coronary stent thrombosis prevention during the first era of stents.1 It has since been replaced by the combination of aspirin and a thienopyridine because studies have shown a definite advantage of the antiplatelet combination on coronary events2–4 and on reducing the risk of access-site bleeding complications. However, ≈5%5,6 of patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) also present with an indication for oral anticoagulation therapy. In such cases, the type of stent selected; the use of oral anticoagulants, antiplatelets, or their combinations; the target INR; and the duration of treatment are essential considerations in relation to the risk of stent thrombosis/thromboembolic events and bleeding risk. With the introduction and widespread use of drug-eluting stents (DES) in recent years and given the necessity for longer duration of dual antiplatelet therapy, the issue of concurrent warfarin and antiplatelet therapy has become even more important. The existing guidelines do not offer a convincing solution to these issues. For acute coronary syndrome patients with an indication for anticoagulation, triple therapy (warfarin, aspirin, and clopidogrel) for the minimum time possible and a maintenance …