Background and objective: Statins are frequently given in conjunction with clopidogrel for prophylaxis and therapy of coronary heart disease. The antiplatelet effect of clopidogrel may be attenuated by lipophilic statins such as atorvastatin. It was the aim of this study to measure the antiplatelet effect of clopidogrel and the incidence of cardiovascular events after stent implantation in patients with coronary artery stenting.
Patients and methods: ADP-induced aggregometry was used in 319 patients after coronary artery stent implantation to determine whether added administration of clinically relevant statins would affect the antiplatelet action of clopidogrel. Also a three-month follow-up was undertaken to determine the incidence of cardiovascular events.
Results: There were no significant differences between the statin-receiving subgroups, either in platelet aggregation nor in clinical outcome in our cohort.
Conclusion: No statin-clopidogrel interaction nor any clinically relevant events were documented in the studied cohort. No interaction between CYP3A4 statins and a single loading dose of 600 mg clopidogrel was documented in this cohort.