Add-on Cangrelor in STEMI-triggered Cardiac Arrest

In patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) undergoing percutaneous coronary angioplasty (PCI) P2Y12 receptor (P2Y12r) inhibition should be achieved as soon as possible. Resuscitated STEMI-patients receiving targeted temperature management (TTM, therapeutic hypothermia) after cardiac arrest, however, show deteriorated and delayed early response to available oral P2Y12r inhibitors. Therapeutic hypothermia attenuates the drugs' effectiveness by reducing its gastrointestinal absorption and metabolic activation. Acute stent thrombosis is 5-fold increased after angioplasty following resuscitated cardiac arrest because of insufficient early platelet suppression. Thus, aggressive antiplatelet strategies are needed to achieve optimal platelet suppression during PCI in those patients. The first intravenous P2Y12r inhibitor, cangrelor, has recently received marketing authorization for the acute treatment of STEMI. We hypothesize that add-on antiplatelet therapy with intravenous Cangrelor on-top of standard dual anti platelet therapy (DAPT) with Prasugrel or Ticagrelor is superior to standard antiplatelet therapy alone in terms of suppressing ADP-dependent platelet activation in resuscitated STEMI-patients receiving TTM.