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Deaths don't drop with added warfarin
ORLANDO-Aspirin plus low-dose warfarin after an MI seems no better than aspirin alone.
A 272-center trial was halted early when an interim analysis showed no extra mortality, reinfarction, or antistroke benefit from 80 mg of aspirin plus 1 mg or 3 mg of warfarin (Coumadin, DuPont Merck) daily, vs. 160 mg of aspirin.
Mortality was 2.7% for aspirin only, 3.0% for aspirin plus 1 mg warfarin, and 3.1% for aspirin plus 3 mg warfarin, says Dr. Valentin Fuster of Mount Sinai in New York, who chaired the 8,803-patient Coumadin Aspirin Reinfarction Study. Differences weren't significant.
The four-year study was stopped because of lack of additional benefit, not for safety reasons, Dr. Fuster told the American College of Cardiology meeting here. -Mark Bloom
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