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Plavix (clopidogrel) helps keep platelets in the blood from sticking together and forming clots—the direct cause of most heart attacks and strokes. With its effectiveness proven and safety profile supported by 4 large clinical studies with 81,000 patients, Plavix is the number 1 prescription antiplatelet medicine.
Taking the blood thinner Plavix along with aspirin helped prevent strokes and heart attacks in people with a common heartbeat abnormality that puts them at high risk of these problems. The treatment is for atrial fibrillation, a rhythm disorder that 2.2 million people have. It occurs when the upper parts of the heart quiver instead of beating properly. This allows blood to pool and form clots that can travel to the brain, causing a stroke.
The study involved 7,554 patients who were not able or chose not to take warfarin. All were treated with aspirin; half also were given Plavix. After nearly four years of followup, the dual drug treatment lowered a combined measure — heart attacks, heart-related deaths, strokes and blood clots — by 11 percent. There were 924 of these problems in patients on aspirin alone but only 832 in those also getting Plavix.
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