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News
Bleeding complications that occur months after a heart stenting procedure may be more dangerous than clot-related events, a large French study found. Analyzing over 54,000 PCI patients, researchers found that late bleeding (beyond 24 weeks post-discharge) carried a higher mortality risk than late ischemic events. The findings call for a careful rethink of prolonged blood-thinning therapy after PCI.
A large French registry study has found that bleeding complications occurring months after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) — a procedure used to open blocked arteries — are more strongly linked to death than late clot-related (ischemic) complications. The findings challenge the conventional focus on preventing clots when managing long-term antiplatelet therapy after stenting.
Researchers analyzed data from 54,599 patients who underwent PCI in France between 2014 and 2020. During the initial hospitalization, both ischemic and bleeding complications were similarly tied to in-hospital death. But after discharge, the mortality risk from bleeding events remained persistently high over time, while the risk from ischemic events declined.
By the Numbers:
Why it matters: These findings suggest that prolonged dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) after PCI needs a more nuanced benefit-risk assessment — particularly for patients at higher bleeding risk — since late bleeding may ultimately pose a greater threat to survival than late clotting events.
