Does double antithrombotic therapy reduce bleeding compared to triple antithrombotic therapy in patients with atrial fibrillation following percutaneous coronary intervention?
In patients with atrial fibrillation undergoing PCI, double antithrombotic therapy with a NOAC reduces bleeding risk but increases the risk of stent-related ischemic events compared to triple therapy.
Double antithrombotic therapy, particularly if consisting of a NOAC instead of VKA and a P2Y12 inhibitor, is associated with a reduction of bleeding, including major and intracranial haemorrhages. This benefit is however counterbalanced by a higher risk of cardiac-mainly stent-related-but not cerebrovascular ischaemic occurrences.
Gargiulo et al. (Thu,) studied this question.