Antiplatelet therapy and cardiovascular primary prevention: influence of gender, age and other risk factors.

Intervention for cardiovascular primary prevention has shown promising results in several trials. Studies performed up to 2002 showed a significant effect of aspirin in primary prevention of ischemic heart disease, with a significant reduction in non-fatal acute myocardial infarction, especially in men. Since then, new evidence has demonstrated the potential effect of antiplatelet therapy in cardiovascular primary prevention, particularly in less represented subgroups. In this article, we review the main studies on antiplatelet therapy and cardiovascular primary prevention, highlighting the results for these subgroups in terms of gender, age and presence of diabetes, chronic renal failure or atrial fibrillation, and then propose some clinical guidelines.