Ticagrelor plus aspirin reduced stroke risk by 27% in patients with heart plaque: Study

"In our opinion, health care professionals should now consider both ticagrelor and aspirin to prevent another stroke in patients who experience a warning stroke. Our research shows treating patients within 24 hours of their first symptoms using this newer regimen is effective, especially when the cause of the stroke is due to plaque build-up in the arteries," said the study's lead author Pierre Amarenco, M.D., professor of neurology at Paris University and chair of the department of Neurology and Stroke Center and the SOS-TIA clinic at Bichat hospital in Paris, France.

Of the more than 11,000 participants originally enrolled in the multinational THALES trial (conducted in 2018 and 2019), about one in five (2,351) had plaque build-up in their arteries. Researchers randomized those patients into two groups - aspirin plus ticagrelor or aspirin alone - to identify whether the combination of medications was a more effective treatment than either medication on its own.

After an initial dose of 180 mg, researchers added 90 mg twice a day of ticagrelor to 75-100 mg of daily aspirin for one month, and the risk of another stroke or death was reduced by 27% among these patients.

The THALES trial is a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind, international, multi-site study. It is currently in Phase III and began in January of 2018.