Antiplatelet versus anticoagulation therapy after stent implantation

To determine if the complications associated with stent placement can be circumvented without compromising the effectiveness of the procedure, we compared the early outcomes of 257 patients with symptomatic ischemic heart disease randomized to antiplatelet therapy after successful stent implantation with that of 260 similar patients randomized to conventional anticoagulation therapy. Primary cardiac end points were reached by 6.2% of the patients in the anticoagulation group compared with only 1.6% of the patients in the antiplatelet group. Primary noncardiac end points were reached by 12.3% of the patients in the anticoagulation group and only 1.2% of those in the antiplatelet group. Antiplatelet therapy after stent placement reduces the incidence of both cardiac and noncardiac events compared with conventional anticoagulation therapy.