Combined Aspirin–Oral Anticoagulant Therapy Compared With Oral Anticoagulant Therapy Alone Among Patients at Risk for Cardiovascular Disease

Abstract
Combination antithrombotic therapy consisting of low-dose aspirin (≤100 mg/d) and an oral anticoagulant (OAC) is recommended only for patients with a mechanical prosthetic heart valve.1 Despite this recommendation, a considerable number of patients with chronic atrial fibrillation receive combined aspirin-OAC therapy. In 2 recent multinational clinical trials involving patients with chronic atrial fibrillation, 25% of patients were receiving aspirin in addition to OAC therapy.2