Stroke of antiplatelet and anticoagulant therapy in patients with coronary artery disease: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

BACKGROUND: We performed a meta-analysis sought to investigate the risk of stroke with antiplatelet and anticoagulant therapies among patients with coronary artery disease (CAD). METHODS: We searched PubMed, EMBASE, and Cochrane Library for randomized controlled trials from January 1995 to March 2020. Studies were retrieved if they reported data of stroke for patients with CAD and were randomized to receive intensive versus conservative antithrombotic therapies, including antiplatelet and oral anticoagulant (OAC). Analyses were pooled by random-effects modeling. A total of 42 studies with 301,547subjects were enrolled in this analysis. RESULTS: Intensive antithrombotic therapy significantly reduced risk of all stroke (RR 0.86, 95% CI 0.80–0.94) and ischemic stroke (RR 0.80, 95% CI 0.71–0.91), but increased risk of hemorrhagic stroke (RR 1.36, 95% CI 1.00–1.86) and intracranial hemorrhage (RR 1.46, 95% CI 1.17–1.81). Subgroup analyses indicated that OAC yields more benefit to all stroke than antiplatelet therapy (OAC: RR 0.73, 95% CI 0.58–0.92; Antiplatelet: RR 0.90, 95% CI 0.83–0.97; Between-group heterogeneity P value = 0.030). The benefit of antiplatelet therapy on all stroke and ischemic stroke were mainly driven by the studies comparing longer versus shorter duration of dual antiplatelet therapy (All stroke: RR 0.86, 95% CI 0.78–0.95; ischemic stroke: RR 0.84, 95% CI 0.75–0.94). CONCLUSIONS: Among CAD patients who have already received antiplatelet therapy, either strengthening antiplatelet or anticoagulant treatments significantly reduced all stroke, mainly due to the reduction of ischemic stroke, although it increased the risk of hemorrhagic stroke and intracranial hemorrhage. OAC yields more benefit to all stroke than antiplatelet therapy. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12872-021-02384-w.