Clinical impact of high platelet reactivity in patients with atrial fibrillation and concomitant percutaneous coronary intervention on dual or triple antithrombotic therapy

High platelet reactivity (HPR) on clopidogrel is an established thrombotic risk factor after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). The introduction of more potent antiplatelet drugs has partially surpassed this issue. However, in the setting of concomitant atrial fibrillation (AF) and PCI clopidogrel is still the most adopted P2Y(12) inhibitor. In the present study all consecutive patients with history of AF discharged from our cardiology ward with dual (DAT) or triple (TAT) antithrombotic therapy after a PCI from April 2018 to March 2021 were enrolled in an observational registry. For all subjects, blood serum samples were collected and tested for platelet reactivity by arachidonic acid and ADP (VerifyNow system) and genotyping of the CYP2C19*2 loss-of-function polymorphism. We recorded at 3 and 12-months follow-up: (1) major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events (MACCE), (2) major hemorrhagic or clinically relevant non-major bleeding and (3) all-cause mortality. A total of 147 patients were included (91, 62% on TAT). In 93.4% of patients, clopidogrel was chosen as P2Y(12) inhibitor. P2Y(12) dependent HPR resulted an independent predictor of MACCE both at 3 and 12 months (HR 2.93, 95% C.I. 1.03 to 7.56, p = 0.027 and HR 1.67, 95% C.I. 1.20 to 2.34, p = 0.003, respectively). At 3-months follow-up the presence of CYP2C19*2 polymorphism was independently associated with MACCE (HR 5.21, 95% C.I. 1.03 to 26.28, p = 0.045). In conclusion, in a real-world unselected population on TAT or DAT, the entity of platelet inhibition on P2Y(12) inhibitor is a potent predictor of thrombotic risk, suggesting the clinical utility of this laboratory evaluation for a tailored antithrombotic therapy in this high-risk clinical scenario. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT: The present analysis was performed in patients with AF undergoing PCI on dual or triple antithrombotic therapy. At 1 year follow-up MACCE incidence was consistent, and it was not different in different antithrombotic pattern groups. P2Y(12) dependent HPR was a potent independent predictor of MACCE both at 3- and 12-months follow-up. In the first 3 months after stenting the carriage of CYP2C19*2 allele was similarly associated with MACCE. Abbreviation: DAT, dual antithrombotic therapy; HPR, high platelet reactivity; MACCE, major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events; PRU, P2Y(12) reactive unit; TAT, triple antithrombotic therapy. Created with BioRender.com. [Image: see text] SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11239-023-02784-z.