Direct thrombin inhibitor therapy in the cardiovascular patient.

Direct thrombin inhibitors in cardiovascular patients are discussed. Patients presenting with acute coronary syndromes (ACS) of ST- and non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI and NSTEMI, respectively) or unstable angina develop mural thrombi within minutes of plaque disruption or erosion. Initial acute therapy includes heparin and aspirin. Up to 60% of patients have coronary revascularization to reduce the high risk of death, new myocardial infarction (MI), or recurrent angina. In addition, heparin may initiate a serious allergic, prothrombotic drug reaction, heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT), in 1-5% of patients. Acute cessation of heparin and initiation of direct thrombin inhibitor (DTI) therapy for suspected HIT are vital and well established. Several clinical trials comparing DTIs with heparin have been done in ACS and percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), and have shown excellent potency in inhibiting thrombus formation and reducing coronary events. An overview of results from published studies evaluating the use of bivalent and univalent DTIs in the cardiovascular patient is presented. Four DTIs are discussed: two r-hirudins (lepirudin and desirudin), both bivalent with stable chain and renal excretion; bivalirudin, bivalent with rapid-chain metabolism; and argatroban, univalent with hepatic metabolism. The extensive clinical experience with r-hirudin in cardiovascular patients suggests that it is an excellent choice for managing patients with HIT and is easy to use in converting to warfarin, since it does not significantly change the prothrombin time.