A commonly prescribed drug could be more effective than aspirin for long-term heart disease prevention.

Analysis of nearly 29,000 patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) suggests the blood thinner clopidogrel is more effective than aspirin in preventing serious heart and stroke events—without increasing the risk of major bleeding.

This challenges the long-standing recommendation of aspirin as the default treatment for secondary prevention in CAD patients, according to international research.

"This is the first definitive demonstration that clopidogrel is more effective and similarly safe than aspirin in patients with CAD. We have had some prior trials suggesting this but none had a definitive power to prove this," study author and cardiologist professor Marco Valgimigli of the Unive

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