Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Clopidogrel vs aspirin to prevent repeat blood clots in cats
By Hogan, Daniel F et al.·Published in Journal of veterinary cardiology : the official journal of the European Society of Veterinary Cardiology·2015·Purdue University, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Secondary prevention of cardiogenic arterial thromboembolism in the cat: The double-blind, randomized, positive-controlled feline arterial thromboembolism; clopidogrel vs. aspirin trial (FAT CAT).
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A group of 75 cats who had previously experienced a serious heart-related blood clot (called cardiogenic arterial thromboembolism or CATE) were treated with either clopidogrel or aspirin to see which medication better prevented future clots. The cats, mostly around 8 years old, were monitored for how long it took for any new clots or heart-related deaths to occur. The results showed that clopidogrel significantly lowered the chances of having another clot compared to aspirin, allowing cats to go longer without issues. Both medications were well tolerated by the cats.
People also search for: cat heart blood clot treatment · clopidogrel vs aspirin for cats · preventing cat thromboembolism
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: To determine if clopidogrel administration is associated with a reduced likelihood of recurrent cardiogenic arterial thromboembolism (CATE) in cats compared to aspirin administration. Secondary aims were to determine if clopidogrel administration had an effect on the composite endpoint of recurrent CATE and cardiac death and to identify adverse effects of chronic clopidogrel or aspirin therapy. ANIMALS: Seventy-five cats that survived a CATE event. METHODS: Multicenter, double-blind, randomized, positive-controlled study. Cats were assigned to clopidogrel (18.75 mg/cat PO q 24 h) or aspirin (81 mg/cat PO q 72 h). Kaplan-Meier survival curves were created for each endpoint and the log rank test performed to compare treatment groups with respect to time to event and the likelihood of the event occurring. RESULTS: The mean age of all cats was 8.0 ± 3.5 yr and 57/75 (76%) were male (p < 0.001); 62/75 (83%) were mixed breed with the remainder including Persian, Abyssinian, American Shorthair, Bengal, Birman, Himalayan, Maine Coon, Ragdoll, Snowshoe, and Sphynx breeds. Only 15% (11/75) of cats had a history of heart disease recorded prior to the CATE event. Clopidogrel administration was associated with significantly reduced likelihood of recurrent CATE compared to aspirin (p = 0.024) and had a longer median time to recurrence [443 (95% CI 185-990) days vs. 192 (95% CI 62-364) days, respectively]. Clopidogrel was also associated with a significantly reduced likelihood of the composite endpoint of recurrent CATE or cardiac death (p = 0.033) with a longer median time to event [346 (95% CI 146-495) days vs. 128 (95% CI 58-243) days]. CONCLUSIONS: Clopidogrel administration significantly reduces the likelihood of recurrent CATE compared with aspirin in cats; both drugs were well tolerated.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26776588/