Adenosine and Aggrenox: A Hazardous Combination

Letters2 July 2002Adenosine and Aggrenox: A Hazardous CombinationLaszlo Littmann, MD, Justin D. Anderson, MD, and Michael H. Monroe, MDLaszlo Littmann, MDCarolinas Medical Center, Charlotte, NC 28232 (Littmann, Anderson, Monroe), Justin D. Anderson, MDCarolinas Medical Center, Charlotte, NC 28232 (Littmann, Anderson, Monroe), and Michael H. Monroe, MDCarolinas Medical Center, Charlotte, NC 28232 (Littmann, Anderson, Monroe)Author, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-137-1-200207020-w1 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail TO THE EDITOR:Aggrenox (Boehringer Ingelheim, Ingelheim, Germany), a combination of low-dose aspirin and extended-release dipyridamole, is a new, effective medication for secondary stroke prevention (1). Patients taking Aggrenox may be referred for adenosine nuclear perfusion heart scans or could be considered for termination of supraventricular tachycardia with intravenous adenosine. Because dipyridamole inhibits cellular reuptake and breakdown of adenosine, the extended-release formulation may exaggerate the negative chronotropic and dromotropic effects of injected adenosine. Warning letters were recently published in the cardiology literature about the possible hazard associated with adenosine stress tests in patients taking Aggrenox (2, 3), but to our ...References1. Pettigrew LC. Antithrombotic drugs for secondary stroke prophylaxis. Pharmacotherapy. 2001;21:452-63. [PMID: 11310519] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar2. Bokhari S. Warning to physicians performing pharmacologic stress tests [Letter]. J Nucl Cardiol. 2000;7:546. [PMID: 11083205] MedlineGoogle Scholar3. Bergmann SR. Aggrenox and stress testing [Letter]. Circulation. 2001;103:E50. [PMID: 11222491] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar4. O'Keefe JH, Bateman TM, Handlin LR, Barnhart CS. Four- versus 6-minute infusion protocol for adenosine thallium-201 single photon emission computed tomography imaging. Am Heart J. 1995;129:482-7. [PMID: 7872175] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar5. Alkoutami GS, Reeves WC, Movahed A. The frequency of atrioventricular block during adenosine stress testing in young, middle-aged, young-old, and old-old adults. Am J Geriatr Cardiol. 2001;10:159-61. [PMID: 11360841] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: Carolinas Medical Center, Charlotte, NC 28232 (Littmann, Anderson, Monroe) PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Metrics Cited byOral Dipyridamole-Associated Circulatory CollapseA new algorithm for the initial evaluation and management of supraventricular tachycardia 2 July 2002Volume 137, Issue 1Page: W1KeywordsAdenosineBradycardiaCardiovascular therapyDrug interactionsElectrocardiographyHeartStrokeSymptomatic bradycardiaTachycardiaTransient ischemic attacks ePublished: 2 July 2002 Issue Published: 2 July 2002 Copyright & PermissionsCopyright © 2002 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF downloadLoading ...