Primary Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease and Antiplatelet Therapy. Clinical Lecture

Today, treatment with low doses of acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) (alone or in combination with other antiplatelet drugs) is the key element in the secondary prevention of coronary artery disease. Long-term therapy with low-dose ASA is recommended to patients with stable coronary artery disease, patients after acute coronary syndrome with or without ST segment elevation, and after revascularization. [1–3] The need for antithrombotic therapy in the primary prevention of cardiovascular events raises many questions. The currently available guidelines are contradictory – from complete denial of the need for antiplatelet therapy to designation of the specific groups of patients for whom ASA treatment is recommended. [4, 5] Findings of clinical trials underlie those contradictory opinions. ASA is the only antiplatelet agent the administration of which is debated for primary prevention. Administration of ASA in primary prevention usually results in a reduced risk of cardiovascular complications, but the positive effect is largely offset by an increased risk of bleeding, particularly gastrointestinal. Therefore, the challenge is in the selection of patients for whom the benefit from antithrombotic therapy could outweigh the risks associated with bleeding. Risk scores are commonly used to assess the risk of complications.