Effient® (prasugrel) tablets, a new antiplatelet medicine, was added as a treatment option in two clinical guideline updates: one for patients receiving percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and a second one for patients with ST elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), or severe heart attack. The two 2009 focused updates for the clinical guidelines, jointly developed by the American Heart Association (AHA), the American College of Cardiology (ACC), and the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions (SCAI), were published online today in Circulation, the Journal of the American College of Cardiology and Catheterization and Cardiovascular Interventions.
Approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in July 2009, Effient is indicated to lower the chance of having another thrombotic cardiovascular event such as heart attack or stent-related blood clot for patients with acute coronary syndromes (ACS) who are managed with angioplasty and stenting, also known as PCI.
Effient received the Class I recommendation from the Guidelines Committee in both sets of the guideline updates. Class I means that a given "procedure/treatment should be performed/administered" to patients, given it was found to be "useful/ effective/beneficial". Consistent with the Effient label, both guidelines provide recommendations to avoid the use of Effient in patients with a prior history of TIA or stroke.