THURSDAY, Jan. 7 (HealthDay News) -- In aspirin-resistant patients, two strategies -- using omega-3 fatty acids along with low-dose aspirin or using a higher dose of aspirin -- were each associated with improved response to the drug, according to research published in the Jan. 12 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
Eli I. Lev, M.D., of the Rabin Medical Center in Petah Tikva, Israel, and colleagues analyzed data from 30 patients with stable coronary artery disease and aspirin resistance who were randomized to receive either low-dose aspirin and capsules of omega-3 fatty acids or 325 mg of aspirin daily for 30 days
The researchers found that both approaches were associated with reduced platelet aggregation and plasma thromboxane B2 levels, indicating an improved response to aspirin. Most patients in both groups (80 percent in the omega-3 group and 73 percent in the higher-dose group) were no longer found to be aspirin resistant, according to the study's criteria.
"We have demonstrated by using various platelet assays that either adding omega-3 fatty acids or increasing the aspirin dose can improve response to aspirin and reduce residual platelet reactivity in stable patients with coronary artery disease," the authors write. "Further larger studies are required to assess whether our findings can be translated to a clinical benefit in patients with cardiovascular disease found to be resistant to aspirin and treated with the therapeutic regimens tested in our study."
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