Dual Antiplatelet Therapy in Coronary Artery Disease: New Guidelines and Beyond

It is estimated that 720,000 Americans will have a new coronary event and 335,000 will have a recurrent event this year. Guidelines recommend that these patients receive dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) with low-dose ASA and a platelet P2Y12 receptor antagonist (clopidogrel, prasugrel, or ticagrelor). While there is agreement that low-dose ASA therapy should be continued indefinitely, research continues to lead to modifications of the recommendations for P2Y12 receptor antagonists. To address this, in 2016 the ACC and AHA jointly published a focused guideline update on the use of DAPT in CAD. However, many clinicians are not yet following these recommendations, either because they are not familiar with them or because they are skeptical about the applicability of randomized clinical trials to their practices.

Dual Antiplatelet Therapy in Coronary Artery Disease: New Guidelines and Beyond will review the 2016 ACC/AHA guideline update for the use of DAPT in CAD and outline the real-world evidence for these recommendations. In addition, the activity will discuss the findings from studies completed after the guidelines were published that clinicians may find useful when developing individualized DAPT management strategies for their patients with CAD.