preview

Dual Antiplatelet Therapy

Decent Essays

The clinical practice project I chose to write about and research is dual antiplatelet therapy. Dual antiplatelet therapy is the combination of aspirin and a P2Y12 inhibitor such as Plavix, Effient, or Brillinta after stent placement in patients who have experienced an ischemic event such as a myocardial infarction or stroke (AHA, 2016). I chose this topic because I work on a telemetry unit that cares for patients who have experienced a myocardial infarction and have undergone stent placement. Part of their post-op care is initiation of dual antiplatelet therapy and education regarding its importance. I feel like more educational materials are needed to assist patients and nurses with this education. As I mentioned above, dual antiplatelet …show more content…

They play a large role in public education and have multiple resources available on their website to assist with DAPT education. Their goal is to improve the lives of all Americans by providing public education in multiple ways (AHA, 2016). The AHA advocates for a healthier community by encouraging better nutrition, quality physical education, and adequate, affordable health care for everyone. Their focus is not only geared towards DAPT but encompasses cardiovascular disease as a whole. Each year over 130 million dollars is invested to research heart disease, strokes, medication development, and provider and patient education (AHA, …show more content…

For example, one of the current gaps in data is how long a patient should be on DAPT after stent placement. This is confusing to patients and providers because there is conflicting data on how long a patient should uphold this medication regimen. Another gap identified is affordability of medications. A cohort study used data from a French health insurance reimbursement database to identify and monitor DAPT compliance (Latry, Lafitte, Peter, Couffinhal, & Martin-Latry, n.d.). It found that patients were noncompliant because they did not submit for reimbursement of their medications or patients filled their prescriptions but did not pick them up. It also identified patients who were not prescribed DAPT upon discharge (Latry, Lafitte, Peter, Couffinhal, & Martin-Latry,

Get Access