Key take-aways 

• Dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) for 12 months is recommended after coronary stenting in patients with acute coronary syndromes (ACS), although there is evidence that de-escalation to antiplatelet monotherapy after an initial period of DAPT may reduce bleeding risk.  
• The NEO-MINDSET trial compared antiplatelet monotherapy with a P2Y12 inhibitor vs. DAPT for 12 months shortly after coronary stenting in patients with ACS. 
• Noninferiority was not demonstrated for P2Y12 inhibitor monotherapy vs. DAPT with regard to death and ischaemic events. 
• Landmark analyses indicate an excess ischaemic risk with monotherapy vs. DAPT over the first 30 days, with comparable outcomes thereafter and lower bleeding rates than DAPT over 12 months.  

Madrid, Spain – 31 August 2025: Noninferiority was not demonstrated for death and ischaemic events between P2Y12 inhibitor monotherapy and dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) given for 12 months after stenting in patients with acute coronary syndromes (ACS), according to late-breaking research presented in a Hot Line session today at ESC Congress 2025 and simultaneously published in New England Journal of Medicine.¹ 

DAPT consisting of aspirin plus a potent P2Y12 inhibitor for 12 months is recommended for patients with ACS (myocardial infarction [MI] and unstable angina) after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with stent implantation.² 

“Recent evidence suggests that withdrawal of aspirin after 1 to 3 months of DAPT, followed by P2Y12 inhibitor monotherapy may reduce bleeding while preventing recurrent ischaemic events compared with 12 months of DAPT,³” noted Principal Investigator, Professor Pedro Lemos from the Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein, Sao Paulo, Brazil. “We conducted the NEO-MINDSET trial to specifically investigate if P2Y12 inhibitor monotherapy could be used in the early phase, immediately after PCI and for the entire 12 months compared with DAPT for 12 months.”  

The open-label randomised controlled NEO-MINDSET trial was conducted across 50 sites in Brazil. Patients with ACS undergoing successful PCI with drug-eluting stents were randomised 1:1 within the first 4 days of hospitalisation to stop aspirin and receive potent P2Y12 inhibitor monotherapy (ticagrelor or prasugrel) or to DAPT (aspirin plus a potent P2Y12 inhibitor) for 12 months. 

The first primary outcome was a composite of death, MI, stroke or urgent target-vessel coronary revascularisation, with an absolute risk difference of 2.5 percentage points set as the prespecified noninferiority margin. The second primary outcome was major or clinically relevant nonmajor bleeding, with superiority testing if the first primary outcome was noninferior.  

The analysis population included 3,410 randomised patients who had a mean age of 59.6 years, with 29.3% being women. 

The ischaemic primary endpoint occurred in 7.0% of patients in the monotherapy group and 5.5% in the DAPT group (hazard ratio [HR] 1.28; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.98 to 1.68), resulting in an absolute risk difference of +1.47 percentage points (95% CI −0.16 to 3.10), which did not meet the prespecified criteria for noninferiority (p=0.11).  

Major or clinically relevant nonmajor bleeding occurred in 2.0% of patients in the monotherapy group and 4.9% in the DAPT group (risk difference −2.97 percentage points; 95% CI −4.20 to −1.73).  

The incidence of all-cause death was 3.6% in the monotherapy group and 3.0% in the DAPT group (HR 1.24; 95% CI 0.85 to 1.79). Any bleeding occurred in 4.5% of patients in the monotherapy group and 9.0% in the DAPT group. 

A landmark analysis on the ischaemic primary endpoint revealed a risk difference of +1.5 percentage points during the first 30 days and 0.0 percentage points from 30 days to 12 months for P2Y12 inhibitor monotherapy vs. DAPT. For the bleeding primary endpoint, the risk difference was −0.8 percentage points during the first 30 days and −2.2 percentage points from 30 days to 12 months for monotherapy vs. DAPT. 

Summarising the findings, Professor Lemos concluded: “We failed to demonstrate the noninferiority of aspirin-free monotherapy initiated immediately after PCI with regard to the ischaemic primary endpoint over 12 months. Results from the landmark analysis suggest that the excess ischaemic risk with monotherapy occurred in the first 30 days, with comparable outcomes thereafter. Bleeding appeared to be lower at both 30 days and 12 months with monotherapy vs. DAPT.”  

ENDS