Updated AHA/ACCF guidelines for unstable angina include newest blood-thinning drug

Ticagrelor, Anglo-Swedish drug major AstraZeneca’s (LSE: AZN) blood-thinning drug Brilique/Brilinta which was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 2011, should be considered along with older blood thinners clopidogrel and prasugrel for treating patients who are experiencing chest pain or some heart attacks, according to joint updated guidelines issued by the American Heart Association (AHA) Task Force on Practice Guidelines and the American College of Cardiology (ACCF) Foundation.

The "focused update" on unstable angina (chest pain) or a specific kind of heart attack known as non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) is published in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association and the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. The panel continues to recommend that all patients receive aspirin immediately after hospitalization, continuing as long as it is tolerated. Among the other new recommendations:

• Patients unable to take aspirin may receive prasugrel for artery-opening procedures since research on the medication is restricted to those patients. Ticagrelor or clopidogrel may be given whether patients receive medical therapy alone or are also having an invasive procedure;
• Patients undergoing invasive procedures should receive both aspirin and another antiplatelet medication;
• Patients undergoing medical treatment only should receive aspirin indefinitely and clopidogrel or ticagrelor for up to or at least 12 months.