Is ticagrelor worth its high cost and side-effects?

Is ticagrelor worth its high cost and side-effects? Acta Cardiol. 2018 May 07;:1-6 Authors: Guerbaai RA, Mahata I, Maréchaux S, Le Jemtel TH, Ennezat PV Abstract Ticagrelor is a reversible P2Y12 receptor antagonist that is more potent than clopidogrel. When used in combination with aspirin, it reduces cardiovascular events in patients with acute coronary syndrome. However, unbiased review of 5 randomised controlled trials indicates that although statistically significant, the clinical superiority of ticagrelor over clopidogrel is modest. Thus, identification of patients who benefit the most from ticagrelor is a priority. Besides bleeding issues, ticagrelor can frequently cause bouts of dyspnoea, which requires ticagrelor replacement by another P2Y12 receptor antagonist, with a loading dose. PMID: 29730968 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Source: Acta Cardiologica - Category: Cardiology Tags: Acta Cardiol Source Type: research