Anti-platelet Therapy in the Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease in Patients With COPD (APPLE-COPD: ICON 2)

Summary

Patients with COPD (chronic bronchitis and/or emphysema) are known to be at an increased risk of heart disease and death due to heart attacks. There are several possible reasons for this, one of which is an increased tendency of the blood to clot, that can give rise to blood clot formation in the coronary arteries, and lead to heart attack. Medications such as Aspirin and another new blood thinning tablet called Ticagrelor are already used for patients with heart attacks. Given that patients with COPD are at higher risk of heart attack, the investigators wish to see if these tablets that can prevent blood clot formation in heart arteries might also prevent heart attacks happening in COPD patients. The investigators hope to understand the effects by measuring clotting and inflammation in the blood. All patients will be followed up for 6-months. In addition the investigators wish to study COPD patients who do not have a high risk of developing future heart problems using the QRISK score to study their well being over a 1 year period to see if they might also benefit from blood thinning medications.

Timeline

Start

2015-09

Primary completion

2017-11

Completion

2017-11

Drugs

Indications