Of Heart Attacks
Clopidogrel bisulfate (Plavix, Bristol-Myers Squibb/Sanofi-Aventis) has been approved for patients who have had a type of heart attack called acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) and who are not scheduled for angioplasty (coronary artery repair).
A STEMI is a severe heart attack caused by the sudden, total blockage of an artery. The drug prevents subsequent blockage in the damaged heart vessel.
Clopidogrel was approved in November 1997 to decrease platelet function in people with acute coronary syndrome. Platelets help to form clots, and they can contribute to blocked coronary arteries.
The Clopidogrel and Metoprolol generic in Myocardial Infarction Trial (COMMIT) showed that Plavix, when combined with other standard treatments, reduced mortality and the combined number of recurrent heart attacks, strokes, and deaths. The COMMIT findings were supported by the results of another study, Clopidogrel as Adjunctive Reperfusion Therapy (CLARITY). In this study, coronary artery blood flow was better with clopidogrel than with placebo.
