Aspirin-free strategies after percutaneous coronary intervention: Old habits, consolidated evidence and future perspectives.

For almost two decades, dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) has been considered the cornerstone of pharmacological treatment in patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). DAPT composition and duration have considerably evolved in the last decade moving from fixed treatment durations to tailored strategies based on the individual ischemic and bleeding risks. The increasing awareness of the prognostic relevance of bleeding events after PCI and the need for tailoring DAPT according to the individual bleeding and ischemic risks paved the way to newer DAPT modulation strategies by early aspirin withdrawal which have been shown to decrease bleeding without affecting therapeutic efficacy.

Neutrophil count as a risk factor for cardiovascular diseases: how can we manage it?

Neutrophils activation plays a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of atherosclerotic plaque formation, progression and rupture. An association between the leukocyte count and the risk of developing myocardial infarction has been well known for many years; however, only recently did Mendelian randomization studies show that a high neutrophil count is a causal risk factor for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. On the other hand, experimental studies show that depletion of circulating neutrophils impairs plaque development.