Aspirin and dipyridamole in the prevention of restenosis after percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty.

Abstract To examine the role of antiplatelet therapy in the prevention of arterial re-Stenosis after percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA), we conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study in 376 patients. The active treatment consisted of an oral aspirin–dipyridamole combination (330 mg–75 mg) given three times daily, beginning 24 hours before PTCA. Eight hours before PTCA, the oral dipyridamole was replaced with intravenous dipyridamole at a dosage of 10 mg per hour for 24 hours, and oral aspirin was continued. Sixteen hours after PTCA, the initial combination was reinstituted. Treatment was continued in patients with a successfully dilated vessel until follow-up angiography four to seven months after PTCA — or earlier, if symptoms dictated. Of 249 patients who underwent follow-up angiography, 37.7 percent of patients receiving the active drug had re-Stenosis in at least one segment, as compared with 38.6 percent of patients taking placebo (P not significant). The number...