Plavix

[MirianaPozega]

My dad had a TIA about 5 years ago and was put on Plavix in the ER
My question is just recently he had gone to a cardiologist to see about stopping
The Plavix.  
The doctor told him to go ahead and stop but to take a low dose aspirin in place of it.
Now my mother was worried about completely going off all at once so she gives
My dad a Plavix every other day and an aspirin on the days he doesn't take the Plavix
How long should my dad be on this schedule before completely stoping the Plavix
Thank you

[caregiver222]

It is inappropriate to giver a plavix one day and an aspirin the next. Pubmed, the US medical database, has studies that suggest in many cases aspirin alone is an acceptable anti-coagulant. One of the most important things to avoid another TIA is to keep well hydrated.

[Ger57]

There are different medicin regimes for patients who suffered a TIA:
(a) acetylsalicylzuur (aspirin) in combination with dipyridamol;
(b) monotherapy clopidogrel (Plavix);
(c) monotherapy with acetylsalicylzuur (aspirin).

According to your dad's cardiologist he should switch from b to c. There is no tapering off for Plavix; you just stop it.

The schedule that your dad is taking now is not tested and is therefore not recommended. So he should either stay on Plavix or switch completely to Aspirin.

Plavix is more potent but also has more side effects than aspirin (bruizing, gastrointestinal bleeding, stomach ulcers, etc). There have been a lot of tests about the safety of Plavix for prolonged periods. The outcomes were not always so positive for Plavix, so I would be glad to stop taking it when my doctor told me so.