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Aspirin and aspirin resistance in coronary artery disease
Charalampos Kasmeridis1, Stavros Apostolakis, Gregory Y H Lip
1University of Birmingham Centre for Cardiovascular Sciences, City Hospital, Birmingham, UK.
Insights
Aspirin resistance, where patients don't fully benefit from aspirin therapy, is a complex issue. This review examines its impact on preventing coronary artery disease.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Pharmacology
- Thrombosis
Background:
- Aspirin is a primary antiplatelet therapy for secondary prevention of coronary artery disease.
- Some patients exhibit aspirin resistance, not achieving expected antithrombotic effects.
- The clinical and laboratory aspects of aspirin resistance are debated, with challenges to its existence.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review current data on the impact of aspirin resistance.
- To explore its role in primary and secondary prevention of coronary artery disease.
Main Methods:
- Literature review of recent data on aspirin resistance.
- Analysis of clinical and laboratory perspectives on aspirin resistance.
Main Results:
- Laboratory methods for diagnosing aspirin resistance lack standardization and show variability.
- Mechanisms underlying aspirin resistance are not fully elucidated.
- Poor patient compliance is often associated with aspirin resistance.
Conclusions:
- The existence and clinical significance of aspirin resistance remain subjects of ongoing research and debate.
- Further investigation is needed to understand aspirin resistance and its implications for cardiovascular disease prevention.
Abstract:
Aspirin is still the mainstay of antiplatelet therapy in the secondary prevention of coronary artery disease. However certain patients do not benefit from the antithrombotic effects of aspirin. The phenomenon of so-called aspirin resistance can be considered from the clinical and laboratory perspective. A variety of methods have emerged for the laboratory diagnosis of aspirin resistance. None of them is considered ideal as they provide conflicting information with significant inter-individual variability and weak correlation between them. With the mechanisms of aspirin resistance not fully understood and the phenomenon commonly observed in individuals with poor compliance, the existence of aspirin resistance has been challenged. The aim of this review is to present recent data on the impact of aspirin resistance in primary and secondary prevention of coronary artery disease.
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