PACeS

What?

Some patients, after having coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery, develop an irregular heart beat called atrial fibrillation (AF).

Patients who develop AF have a higher risk of developing blood clots, which can lead to stroke.

There are two types of drugs that prevent blood clots:

Anti-platelets (like aspirin)
Anti-coagulants (blood thinners)

After CABG surgery, anti-platelet drugs are given to patients to help stop clots forming in the new grafts, some patients are also given anti-coagulants.

The PACeS trial aims to establish whether taking an anti-platelet drug plus an anti-coagulant (blood thinner) works better for patients in preventing strokes and other conditions, than taking an anti-platelet drug on its own.

How?

Internationally, 3,200 eligible and consenting patients who develop AF after having CABG surgery will be split into two groups.

One group of patients will take an anti-platelet drug to prevent blood clots. The other group of patients will take an anti-platelet drug plus an anti-coagulant drug.

Data will be compared to determine which group does better to prevent blood clot related conditions in patients after CABG surgery. We are looking for 450 patients to take part in the UK.

ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04045665