Heart Drug Combos Raise Risk of Gastrointestinal Bleeding

HealthDay, June, 2009 by Jennifer Thomas

Common drug combinations used to treat heart disease raise the risk of bleeding or perforation of the upper gastrointestinal tract, new research shows.

Researchers examined data on 78,084 patients aged 60 to 99 from a Department of Veterans Affairs national pharmacy and administrative database. About 30 percent were prescribed what is known as Complex Antithrombotic Therapy, combinations of two or three drugs, between January 2003 and September 2006.

The combinations include anticoagulant-antiplatelet (ACAP), aspirin-antiplatelet (ASAP), aspirin-anticoagulant (ASAC) or TRIP (aspirin-anticoagulant-antiplatelet).

The drugs are typically prescribed to treat people with a history of heart attack, stroke or peripheral vascular disease.

Within one year of starting...

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