Abbott Says Aspirin-free Medication Regimen Benefits People With HeartMate 3 Heart Pump

(RTTNews) - Abbott's (ABT) new data show that an Aspirin-free medication regimen benefits people with its HeartMate 3 heart pump.

According to Abbott, the new late-breaking data show advanced heart failure patients living with its HeartMate 3 heart pump who didn't receive aspirin as part of their blood-thinning medication regimen experienced fewer complications from bleeding and were associated with reduced hospital visits compared to patients who took aspirin daily following their implant.

The data from the ARIES trial is the first to potentially shift how physicians manage their patients living with a HeartMate 3 heart pump.

The ARIES trial studied more than 600 patients and found that HeartMate 3 patients who didn't receive aspirin but continued using the standard post-implant vitamin-K antagonist (VKA) treatment regimen met the primary endpoint by showing non-inferiority of no aspirin to aspirin. The HeartMate 3 patients who did not take aspirin spent 47% fewer days in the hospital due to a nearly 40% decrease in bleeding events compared to patients who continued to take aspirin daily.