Managing the Antithrombotic Therapy After Percutaneous Coronary Intervention in Patients on Oral Anticoagulation

In patients on chronic oral anticoagulation (OAC) who are undergoing a percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), dual antiplatelet therapy (aspirin and a P2Y12 inhibitor) is required. However, combining dual antiplatelet therapy with OAC increases the risk of bleeding. Newer and stronger P2Y12 inhibitors also add more complexity to the regimen, as these antiplatelet agents are currently recommended as standard treatment in patients with acute coronary syndromes (ACS). It remains unclear whether these ACS patients on chronic OAC undergoing PCI should be treated with these new P2Y12 inhibitors as part of the antiplatelet therapy. Another issue to address is that new non-vitamin K oral anticoagulants have emerged as possible alternatives for stroke prevention in patients with AF. Thus, the anticoagulated patient undergoing PCI faces a treatment dilemma. Based on a real-life case, we will discuss the optimal anticoagulant and antiplatelet treatment with a review of the literature.