A total of 3,602 patients with acute STEMI were randomly assigned to receive bivalirudin alone or a glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitor with unfractionated heparin (control group). At 1 year after PCI ...

A trend towards a lower death rate was shown in the bivalirudin group at 6 months and at 1 year, although MI and revascularization rates tended to be lower in the heparin group at the 6-month stage.

Two clinical trials have demonstrated that bivalirudin is at least as effective as unfractionated heparin (UFH) in preventing ischemic complications in PCI. Other trials have shown that ...

Although 30-day and inhospital cost analysis from REPLACE-2 showed bivalirudin to reduce costs, not all patients undergoing PCI are treated with the combination of heparin plus glycoprotein IIb/IIIa.

Unfractionated heparin, low-molecular-weight heparin (enoxaparin or fondaparinux) or bivalirudin may be used; unfractionated heparin should be given for 48 hours total and low molecular weight ...