Aspirin and Warfarin equally effective for most heart failure patients

Neither aspirin nor Warfarin is superior for preventing a combined risk of death, stroke, and cerebral haemorrhage in heart failure patients with normal heart rhythm, according to a landmark clinical trial.

The 10-year Warfarin and Aspirin for Reduced Cardiac Ejection Fraction (WARCEF) trial is the largest double-blind comparison of these medications for heart failure, following 2,305 patients at 168 study sites in 11 countries on three continents. The research was led by clinical principal investigator Shunichi Homma, MD, of Columbia University Medical Center/NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, and statistical principal investigator John L.P. (Seamus) Thompson, PhD, of Columbia University