Efficacy and safety of rivaroxaban plus aspirin in women and men with chronic coronary or peripheral artery disease.

AIMS: The COMPASS trial demonstrated that the combination of rivaroxaban 2.5 mg twice daily and aspirin 100 mg once daily compared with aspirin 100 mg once daily reduced major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) in patients with chronic coronary artery disease or peripheral artery disease by 24% during a mean follow-up of 23 months. We explored whether this effect varies by sex. METHODS AND RESULTS: The effects were examined in women and men using log-rank tests and Kaplan-Meier curve. Hazard ratios (HRs) and corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were obtained from stratified Cox proportional hazards models to explore subgroup effects including subgroup of women and men according to baseline modified REACH risk score. Of 27 395 patients randomized, 18 278 were allocated to receive rivaroxaban plus aspirin (n = 9152) or aspirin alone (n = 9126), and of these, 22.1% were women. Women compared with men had similar incidence rates for MACE and major bleeding but borderline lower rates for myocardial infarction (1.7% vs. 2.2%, P = 0.05). The effect of combination therapy compared with aspirin in women and men was consistent for MACE (women: 3.8% vs. 5.2%, HR 0.72, 95% CI 0.54-0.97; men: 4.2% vs. 5.5%, HR 0.76, 95% CI 0.66-0.89; P interaction 0.75) and major bleeding (women: 3.1% vs. 1.4%, HR 2.22, 95% CI 1.42-3.46; men: 3.2% vs. 2.0%, HR 1.60, 95% CI 1.29-1.97; P interaction 0.19). There was no significant interaction between randomized treatment and baseline modified REACH score above or below the median for MACE or major bleeding. CONCLUSION: In patients with stable coronary artery disease or peripheral artery disease, the combination of rivaroxaban (2.5 mg twice daily) and aspirin compared with aspirin alone appears to produce consistent benefits in women and men, independent of baseline cardiovascular risk.

Culprit lesion thrombus burden after manual thrombectomy or percutaneous coronary intervention-alone in ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction: the optical coherence tomography sub-study of the TOTAL (ThrOmbecTomy versus PCI ALone) trial.

AIMS: Manual thrombectomy has been proposed as a strategy to reduce thrombus burden during primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). However, the effectiveness of manual thrombectomy in reducing thrombus burden is uncertain. In this substudy of the TOTAL (ThrOmbecTomy versus PCI ALone) trial, we compared the thrombus burden at the culprit lesion using optical coherence tomography (OCT) in patients treated with thrombectomy vs. PCI-alone. METHODS AND RESULTS: The TOTAL trial (N = 10 732) was an international, multicentre, randomized trial of thrombectomy (using the Export catheter, Medtronic Cardiovascular, Santa Rosa, CA, USA) in STEMI patients treated with primary PCI. The OCT substudy prospectively enrolled 214 patients from 13 sites in 5 countries. Optical coherence tomography was performed immediately after thrombectomy or PCI-alone and then repeated after stent deployment. Thrombus quantification was performed by an independent core laboratory blinded to treatment assignment. The primary outcome of pre-stent thrombus burden as a percentage of segment analysed was 2.36% (95% CI: 1.73-3.22) in the thrombectomy group and 2.88% (95% CI: 2.12-3.90) in the PCI-alone group (P = 0.373). Absolute pre-stent thrombus volume was not different (2.99 vs. 3.74 mm(3), P = 0.329). Other secondary outcomes of pre-stent quadrants of thrombus, post-stent atherothrombotic burden, and post-stent atherothrombotic volume were not different between groups. CONCLUSION: Manual thrombectomy did not reduce pre-stent thrombus burden at the culprit lesion compared with PCI-alone. Both strategies were associated with low thrombus burden at the lesion site after the initial intervention to restore flow.

Modification of outcomes with aspirin or apixaban in relation to CHADS(2) and CHA(2)DS(2)-VASc scores in patients with atrial fibrillation: a secondary analysis of the AVERROES study.

BACKGROUND: The impact of apixaban versus aspirin on ischemic stroke and major bleeding in relation to the CHADS(2) and CHA(2)DS(2)-VASc stroke risk scores in atrial fibrillation has not been investigated. METHODS AND RESULTS: In this secondary analysis of the AVERROES trial, our principal objective was to assess the effect of treatment with aspirin or apixaban on ischemic stroke and major bleeding, in relation to the CHADS(2)/CHA(2)DS(2)-VASc scores. We found no significant heterogeneity for treatment efficacy on ischemic stroke for apixaban when subdivided by stroke risk strata, based on CHADS(2)/CHA(2)DS(2)-VASc. Effects were consistent irrespective of baseline risk, and thus, absolute benefits were greatest in the high-risk groups. There was also no significant heterogeneity for apixaban versus aspirin with regard to major bleeding, when subdivided by CHADS(2)/CHA(2)DS(2)-VASc scores. In multivariable analysis, significant predictors of stroke on aspirin were age ≥75 years, prior stroke or transient ischemic attack, estimated glomerular filtration rate <60 mL/min, and nonparoxysmal atrial fibrillation. Proportions of the study cohort classified as low/moderate/high risk using the CHADS(2) and CHA(2)DS(2)-VASc scores were 0.3%/71.7%/28.1% and <0.1%/10.5%/89.5%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: In an atrial fibrillation population, apixaban was superior to aspirin for stroke prevention, with similar rates of major bleeding, in the presence of one or more stroke risk factors, with consistency of the treatment effect by CHADS(2)/CHA(2)DS(2)-VASc scores.