Preventive Aspirin Use Less Than Optimal In Stroke Survivors Despite Clinical Guidelines

POZEN Inc. (NASDAQ: POZN), a pharmaceutical company committed to transforming medicine that transforms lives, presented results today from a survey of more than one thousand patients that found that preventive aspirin use is low among those who have experienced a stroke, despite the recent American Heart Association (AHA) guidelines advising its use in this population for secondary prevention. These data were presented for the first time at the American Heart Association’s 2012 International Stroke Conference on Wednesday, February 1 at 6 p.m. ET in New Orleans, Louisiana at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center as poster board number P321.

According to the 2009 survey, approximately 40% of stroke survivors reported not taking daily aspirin, demonstrating minimal change in the use of aspirin between 2000 and 2009. These findings are similar to the results of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality survey from 2000 to 2006 that found 43% of stroke survivors did not take daily aspirin. However, the AHA guidelines state that the use of an antiplatelet agent, such as aspirin, is recommended to reduce risk of recurrent stroke and other cardiovascular events.

“The results of this patient survey demonstrate that many stroke survivors are not taking daily aspirin, despite AHA’s recommendation for secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease,” said John G. Fort, M.D., Chief Medical Officer of POZEN and co-author of the poster. “Continued effort is needed to address the unmet needs of this patient population to ensure that they are able to take the necessary preventive measures to reduce their risk of future cardiovascular events.”

The overall objective of the survey was to determine aspirin use among patients who have experienced a heart attack and/or stroke. The patient survey was sponsored by POZEN, whose lead pipeline product PA32540 is being investigated for the secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease in patients at risk for developing aspirin-associated gastric ulcers.

1 2 3 4 Next › Last »