PhD defence Wout Willem Antoon van den Broek

Keywords: Personalized medicine, Antiplatelet therapy, Acute coronary syndromes, Pharmacogenomics

"On The Road To Personalized Antiplatelet Therapy: Moving away from a one size-fits-all approach"

This thesis investigated how antiplatelet therapy after a heart attack can be better tailored to the individual patient. Although potent antiplatelet therapy reduces the risk of new cardiovascular events, it also increases the risk of bleeding. Patients do not all respond equally to these medications, partly because of genetic differences.

This thesis explored whether genetic testing can help guide treatment decisions. The findings show that a genotype-guided treatment strategy can be safely implemented in routine clinical practice and is associated with fewer bleeding complications, without increasing the risk of serious cardiovascular events such as heart attack or stroke. In addition, this research evaluated how such a strategy can be implemented in hospitals. The thesis also demonstrated that this personalized approach is cost-effective, potentially reducing complications and unnecessary use of potent medication. Overall, the results contribute to a more personalized, effective, and efficient approach to the treatment of patients with acute coronary syndromes.

Click here for the live stream.