Aspirin is a The world’s most extensive medication has been recommended for decades to prevent heart attacks and strokes in high-risk patients. However, another commonly used blood thinner or anticoagulant clopidogrel is more effective in preventing severe heart attacks and strokes and without additional risks, a new study shows.
The discovery is a result of a study conducted by an international team of scientists from the United States, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Australia and Japan. Their work is a meta-analysis that collects and analyzes the results of several smaller studies with the aim of drawing more reliable conclusions by looking at large amounts of data. Overall, this meta-analysis looked at clinical data from nearly 29,000 patients diagnosed with coronary artery disease (CAD), which builds up fat in the arteries, which can lead to secondary effects such as heart attacks and heart failure.
These experts conducted systematic searches of medical databases, such as PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science and Embase, to find randomized trials of CAD treatment released as of April 12, 2025. The purpose is to identify the papers and compare the efficacy of aspirin and clopidogrel in the prevention of cardiovascular death, heart disease patients, heart attack, heart attack, and strakes and strokes and strokes.
The analysis focused on seven studies that included clinical information from confirmed cases of CAD treated with aspirin or clopidogrel, with an average of 2.3 years. After 5.5 years of follow-up, the researchers observed that people receiving clopidogrel had a 14% lower risk of major cardiovascular events than those receiving aspirin.
Ultimately, the team concluded that these findings “increase evidence that clopidogrel outperforms aspirin in preventing major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events.” In the researchers’ view, these findings support clopidogrel’s support for aspirin for aspirin in patients with established CAD to prevent major complications from their condition, such as heart attacks. The results of the study are published in the journal The Lancet.
In terms of mortality and bleeding risk, the meta-analysis concluded that the rates in both groups were similar, confirming that clopidogrel was as safe as aspirin.
“To our knowledge, clopidogrel monotherapy is the only antiplatelet therapy, which continues to show greater efficacy than aspirin without compromising safety,” the researchers wrote in this article.
The discovery could change medical guidelines internationally. Clopidogrel is a widely available, affordable drug with a reliable universal version of the product, characterized by easy inclusion into conventional clinical practice. However, experts stressed that a broader study is needed to evaluate clopidogrel and its cost-effectiveness among different populations to support its inclusion in treatment criteria.
Cardiovascular disease is the main cause of death in the world. According to the World Health Organization 17.9 million people Death from these conditions every year. More than four of every five deaths were caused by coronary artery disease or stroke. The new study shows that clopidogrel can be a key alternative to address this public health problem, and the incidence of this problem continues to rise around the world.
This story originally appeared in wired español and has been translated into Spanish.
