The blood-thinning drug anticoagulant Angiomax works better with 47 percent less risk of major bleeding, to maintain blood flow in patients who have had a heart attack or severe chest pain, according to study results published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
The study of patients with acute coronary syndromes assigned them to one of three treatment regimens in the emergency room — heparin plus a glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitor (GPI), Angiomax plus a GPI, or Angiomax alone.
Patients treated with Angiomax, also known as bivalirudin, had similar rates of serious complications, such as death, heart attack and repeat artery clearing procedures as the other groups, but had significantly lower rates of serious bleeding.
“Use of bivalirudin alone … could prevent a significant number of major bleeding episodes and blood transfusions every year in the United States and elsewhere,” said Dr. Gregg Stone, of the Columbia University Medical Center and the trial’s lead investigator.
The Medicines Co. had reported preliminary results of the study in March. The full study was published on Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine.