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Recommendations for lifelong antiplatelet treatment after ischemic vascular events are based largely on short-term studies of younger patients (age, ≤75), but about half of patients who receive antiplatelet drugs for secondary prevention are older than 75. To determine the safety of antiplatelet treatment in older adults, British researchers followed a cohort of 3166 patients who started or continued on antiplatelet drugs after transient ischemic attacks, ischemic strokes, or myocardial infarctions. Half of enrollees were younger than 75; patients taking anticoagulants were excluded.
During as long as 10 years of follow-up, 187 major bleeds occurred, with 130 of them in patients older than 75 at baseline; annual risk for major bleeds in elde…