Which role for antiplatelet and anticoagulant drugs in unstable angina pectoris?
Author(s): Lewis HD Jr Affiliation(s): Veterans Administration Medical Center, Kansas City, Missouri 64128. Publication date & source: 1988-05, Cardiovasc Drugs Ther., 2(1):103-6. Publication type: Review Two large placebo-controlled, randomized, double-blind clinical trials have demonstrated the benefit of aspirin therapy in preventing myocardial infarction and death in patients with unstable angina. The Veterans Administration Cooperative Study of 1266 men hospitalized with unstable angina showed that 324 mg of aspirin daily for 12 weeks reduced the incidence of myocardial infarction by 51% (p = 0.001), and the data suggested a similar reduction in mortality. The Canadian McMaster University multicenter trial of 555 patients showed that treatment with 1300 mg of aspirin per day for a mean of 18 months reduced the incidence of cardiac death and nonfatal myocardial infarction together by 51% (p = 0.008). The reduction in death alone was 71% (p = 0.004). In the Canadian study there was
