Health-Related Quality of Life of Ticagrelor versus Clopidogrel in Patients with Acute Coronary Syndromes-Results from the PLATO Trial

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of ticagrelor versus clopidogrel on health-related quality of life in the PLATelet inhibition and patient Outcomes (PLATO) trial. Background: The PLATO trial showed that ticagrelor was superior to clopidogrel for the prevention of cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction, or stroke in a broad population of patients with acute coronary syndromes. Methods: HRQOL in the PLATO study was measured at hospital discharge, 6-month visit, and end of treatment (anticipated at 12 months) by using the EuroQol five-dimensional (EQ-5D) questionnaire. All patients who had an EQ-5D questionnaire assessment at discharge from the index hospitalization (n = 15,212) were included in the study. Patients who died prior to the end-of-treatment visit were assigned an EQ-5D questionnaire value of 0. Results: The EQ-5D questionnaire value at discharge among 7631 patients assigned to ticagrelor was 0.847 and among 7581 patients assigned to clopidogrel was 0.846 (P = 0.71). At 12 months, the mean EQ-5D questionnaire value was 0.840 for ticagrelor and 0.832 for clopidogrel (P = 0.046). Excluding patients who died resulted in mean EQ-5D questionnaire values of 0.864 among ticagrelor patients and 0.863 among clopidogrel patients (P = 0.69). Conclusions: In patients hospitalized with acute coronary syndromes with or without ST-segment elevation, treatment with ticagrelor was associated with a lower mortality but otherwise no difference in quality of life relative to treatment with clopidogrel. The improved survival and reduction in cardiovascular events with ticagrelor are therefore obtained with no loss in quality of life.