Efficacy and safety with ticagrelor in patients with prior myocardial infarction in the approved European label: insights from PEGASUS-TIMI 54

In PEGASUS-TIMI 54, ticagrelor significantly reduced the risk of the composite of major adverse cardiovascular events by 15–16% in stable patients with a prior myocardial infarction (MI) 1–3 years earlier.(1) In the October issue of European Heart Journal – Cardiovascular Pharmacotherapy, Dr Dellborg and co-workers report the efficacy and safety in the subpopulation recommended for treatment in the European label, i.e. treatment with 60 mg b.i.d. initiated up to 2 years from the MI, or within 1 year after stopping previous ADP receptor inhibitor treatment.(2) In this subgroup of patients, the composite of cardiovascular death, MI, or stroke occurred less frequently in the ticagrelor group. Ticagrelor also significantly reduced the risk of all-cause mortality; however, TIMI major bleeding was more frequent in the ticagrelor group.