In a study of patients receiving drug-eluting coronary stents, continued treatment with thienopyridine and aspirin, compared to aspirin alone, beyond one year reduced the risk of stent thrombosis and major adverse cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events. This benefit was driven by reductions in myocardial infarction related to the stent and occurring in other locations. Longer duration of thienopyridine treatment was associated with an increased risk of bleeding, although severe or fatal bleeding was uncommon and the rate did not significantly differ between the study groups. There was an increase in deaths from any cause in the group receiving thienopyridine, driven by an increase in non-cardiovascular deaths. The study suggests that continued thienopyridine therapy may be useful in reducing the risks of cardiovascular events beyond one year in patients treated with drug-eluting stents.
https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/nejmoa1409312
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