Anticoagulation in Post MI LV Thrombus Trial in Nepal

Introduction: The prevalence of left ventricular(LV) thrombus after acute myocardial infarction has decreased with thrombolysis and primary angioplasty intervention worldwide. However, most of the patients in our country present late after the onset of ischemia resulting in a comparable increase proportion of late presentation MI compared to developed countries. This delayed presentation is associated with the increased incidence of LV thrombus, associated with increased cerebrovascular and cardiovascular events resulting in increased morbidity and mortality. The Vitamin K Antagonist Warfarin is indicated in recent guidelines for the duration of 3-6 months. The use of Warfarin is less in our part of the world due to the requirement of frequent International Normalized Ration (INR) monitoring and dietary restrictions. Novel oral anticoagulants (NOACs) are an alternate option for such hindrance to the treatment of LV thrombus. This research will help assess the safety and efficacy of Rivaroxaban, one of the NOACs compared to warfarin. Objectives: Our aim will be to compare the efficacy of rivaroxaban compared to warfarin in the complete resolution of post-MI LV thrombus. The primary efficacy endpoint of our study will be a resolution of LV thrombus as assessed by cardiac MRI at the end of 3 months of the study period. The secondary endpoint will be the comparison of the safety of both drugs measured by the incidence of major bleeding and embolic events. Methods: The patients who present late after acute MI in our center with LV thrombus will be enrolled in our study. The diagnosis of LV thrombus will be diagnosed by cardiac MRI, which is considered the gold standard for the diagnosis. The patients then will be randomized in a 1:1 ratio to either warfarin or rivaroxaban within 24 hours of diagnosis of LV thrombus. The warfarin group will be prescribed the warfarin in the dose of 5mg daily and the dose titrated according to the INR value to maintain the INR range of 2 to 3. Rivaroxaban group will be prescribed 15 to 20mg according to the indication. The research group consisting of the principal investigator and coinvestigators will be responsible for the recruitment and overall study procedures.