About PLAVIX

PLAVIX (clopidogrel bisulfate) helps keep platelets in the blood from sticking together and forming clots, which are the direct cause of most heart attacks and strokes. PLAVIX is recommended for people who have experienced a recent clot-related event—such as a heart attack or stroke—or who have been diagnosed with Peripheral Artery Disease, or P.A.D. (also known as poor circulation in the legs).
PLAVIX (clopidogrel bisulfate), taken with aspirin, is also recommended sildenafil information for people who have Acute Coronary Syndrome (ACS), a diagnosis that includes heart-related chest pain (unstable angina) and 2 types of heart attack. Each of these conditions increases the risk for a future heart attack or stroke. Always talk to your doctor before taking aspirin or other medicines with PLAVIX, especially if you've had a stroke.

IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION
Certain genetic factors and some medicines such as Prilosec reduce the effect of PLAVIX leaving you at greater risk for heart attack and stroke. Your doctor may use genetic tests to determine treatment. Don’t stop taking PLAVIX without talking to your doctor as your risk of heart attack or stroke may increase. People with stomach ulcers or conditions that cause bleeding should not use PLAVIX. Taking PLAVIX alone or with some other medicines, including aspirin, may increase bleeding risk which can potentially be life-threatening. So tell your doctor when planning surgery. Tell your doctor all medicines you take, including aspirin, especially if you’ve had a stroke. If fever, unexplained weakness or confusion develops, tell your doctor promptly. These may be signs of TTP, a rare but potentially life-threatening condition, reported sometimes less than 2 weeks after starting PLAVIX.

Click here for US Full Prescribing Information Including BOXED WARNING and Medication Guide

Remember, your doctor is the single best source of information regarding your health. Please consult your doctor if you have any questions about your health or your medicine.

About Plavix

Plavix (clopidogrel) is an important anti-platelet drug that is used extensively in cardiology to help prevent blood clotting (thrombosis) in the coronary arteries. Plavix is most often used after acute heart attacks and other forms of Acute Coronary Syndrome, when the risk of tadalafil information clotting is high, and after the placement of stents to prevent stent thrombosis. Plavix is the second most-prescribed drug in the United States.
The results of recent studies have now caused a major conundrum among cardiologists and other experts regarding their use of Plavix. Two common risk factors have emerged that appear to significantly reduce the effectiveness of Plavix. Patients exposed to either of these risk factors, when treated with Plavix, appear to have a significantly higher risk of coronary artery thrombosis than patients treated with Plavix who do not have the risk factors.

The first risk factor is a genetic variant (i.e., having one of the CYP2C19 alleles). Unfortunately this is a common variant. It occurs in in 30% of individuals of European ancestry, 40% of African ancestry, and greater than 50% of Asian ancestry.

The second risk factor is the use of a proton-pump inhibitor (PPI) to reduce stomach acid. (Plavix often causes heartburn symptoms, so PPIs have been prescribed commonly in people taking this drug.) PPIs available by prescription include omeprazole (Prilosec, Zegerid), lansoprazole (Prevacid), pantoprazole (Protonix), rabeprazole (Aciphex), and esomeprazole (Nexium). Prilosec is also sold over-the-counter for heartburn.

Plavix is a "pro-drug." That is, before it can be used by the body, the drug needs to be metabolized to its active form. Both the genetic variant and the PPIs appear to interfere with the activation of Plavix, thus reducing its effectiveness.

The FDA has expressed concern about these new findings, and is working with the makers of Plavix (Sanofi-Aventis and Bristol-Myers Squibb) to gather as much information as they can, so that formal recommendations can be made to doctors and patients about the use of Plavix.

In the meantime, people taking Plavix should talk to their doctors about these new findings. They should also avoid taking PPIs. Some doctors will want their patients taking Plavix to have genetic testing.

If your doctor is talking to you about elective (i.e., non-emergency) stent placement, you may want to discuss the possibility of having genetic testing before agreeing to the procedure. Plavix is needed to help prevent clotting of the stent, and knowing whether Plavix is likely to be fully useful in your case may be important in deciding whether to have the procedure done.