Boston—Nearly all of the 1 million stent patients in the United States are prescribed dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) using the combination of aspirin and a second antiplatelet medication to prevent the formation of blood clots. What has been unclear is how long patients should receive DAPT. Now, a study published recently in JAMA describes a new tool to help determine a personalized treatment strategy for patients. Researchers from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and Harvard Clinical Research Institute point out that the DAPT Score provides individualized assessment of the risks and benefits of prescribing DAPT beyond one year in patients who have received stents for the treatment of cardiac blockages, based on a patient’s specific risk factors.

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