When treating a heart attack, every minute matters.
Yet before undergoing a percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) to relieve arterial blockages, patients must first take oral medication to prevent blood clotting during the procedure. Waiting for these antiplatelet drugs to kick in can feel like an eternity.
In the latest issue of Advocate Aurora Research Institute’s Journal of Patient-Centered Research and Reviews (JPCRR), clinician-researchers at Aurora St. Luke’s Medical Center in Milwaukee reported the results from a clinical trial that compared chewing tablets of ticagrelor, an antiplatelet commonly used in PCI, to the traditional method of swallowing the tablets. By measuring the extent to which blood clot formulation was inhibited at various time points, the researchers determined that chewed ticagrelor showed more potency at the one-hour mark.
“It appears that chewing this medication slightly expedites its effects without resulting in poorer PCI outcomes,” said interventional cardiologist Suhail Allaqaband, MD, site principal investigator for the clinical trial. “If confirmed by larger studies, switching to a chewable dose of ticagrelor could potentially benefit patients by rapid onset of action of the oral medication and avoid the need to use more expensive intravenous medications that carry a higher risk of bleeding.”
The study was conducted in patients undergoing PCI for stable ischemic heart disease, which carries a low risk for procedural bleeding. Although no differences in major adverse cardiac events at 30 days and one year were observed between the chewing and swallowing arms, larger studies are needed to determine if these single-center results were definitive.
Also appearing in JPCRR’s newly published Volume 10, Issue 2 are articles reporting on an array of other topics:
- Perspectives of people with cancer on use and value of online peer support
- Attitudes toward health data sharing among people living with sickle cell
- Reflections on life as a COVID-19 long-hauler
- Compensating patients and families as partners in patient-oriented research
- Possible viral interaction between the novel coronavirus and common respiratory viruses
JPCRR editors encourage authors of original research manuscripts in primary or specialty care to submit their work for blinded peer review. Notably, JPCRR does not charge any fees for article processing or open access publication. Contact the editorial office at JPCRR@aah.org.
To learn more about our research, visit aah.org/research.
About the Journal of Patient-Centered Research and Reviews
Published by Advocate Aurora Research Institute, the Journal of Patient-Centered Research and Reviews is a PubMed-indexed medical journal dedicated to scholarly works aimed at improving patient-centered care practices, health outcomes and patient experiences. Quarterly JPCRR circulation exceeds 30,000 readers hailing from around the world.