Should heart bypass patients get blood thinners for new atrial fibrillation? major trial aims to find out
NCT ID NCT04045665
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study looks at whether adding a blood thinner to standard antiplatelet therapy helps prevent strokes and blood clots in people who develop a new, temporary irregular heartbeat after coronary artery bypass surgery. About 3,200 adults who had bypass surgery and then experienced atrial fibrillation will be randomly assigned to receive either antiplatelet drugs alone or antiplatelet drugs plus a blood thinner. The goal is to balance preventing clots against the risk of major bleeding.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only — not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- Blood thinners (anticoagulants like warfarin or apixaban) plus antiplatelet drugs (aspirin or clopidogrel)
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could show that adding blood thinners after heart bypass surgery reduces the risk of stroke or blood clots in patients who develop temporary atrial fibrillation.
- What could go wrong
- This is a large phase 3 trial, but it is still ongoing and results are not yet known. Adding blood thinners may increase the risk of serious bleeding, and the benefit may not outweigh the risk for all patients.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Get updates
Get notified about this study
Sign up to get updates when this study changes or when new studies for ATRIAL FIBRILLATION are added.
By submitting, you agree to our Terms of use
Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
Contacts and locations
Locations
-
Allegheny Health Network
ACTIVE_NOT_RECRUITINGPittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 15212, United States
-
Ascension St. John
ACTIVE_NOT_RECRUITINGTulsa, Oklahoma, 74103, United States
-
Ascension St. Vincent
ACTIVE_NOT_RECRUITINGIndianapolis, Indiana, 46260, United States
-
Barts Health NHS Trust
RECRUITINGLondon, England, United Kingdom
-
Baylor College of Medicine
RECRUITINGHouston, Texas, 77030, United States
-
Baylor Research Institute
RECRUITINGPlano, Texas, 75093, United States
-
Baystate Health
ACTIVE_NOT_RECRUITINGSpringfield, Massachusetts, 01199, United States
-
Belfast Health and Social Care Trust
ACTIVE_NOT_RECRUITINGBelfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom
-
Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
RECRUITINGBlackpool, United Kingdom
-
Boston Medical Center
ACTIVE_NOT_RECRUITINGBoston, Massachusetts, 02118, United States
-
Brigham and Women's Hospital
RECRUITINGBoston, Massachusetts, 02115, United States
-
CHI St. Vincent, Arkansas
RECRUITINGLittle Rock, Arkansas, 72205, United States
-
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
RECRUITINGLos Angeles, California, 90048, United States
-
Centre Hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal
RECRUITINGMontreal, Quebec, H2W 1T8, Canada
-
Charité Berlin - Benjamin Franklin Campus
NOT_YET_RECRUITINGBerlin, Germany
-
Charité Berlin - Rudolf Virchow Campus
NOT_YET_RECRUITINGBerlin, Germany
-
Cleveland Clinic Foundation
RECRUITINGCleveland, Ohio, 44195, United States
-
Clinic Bad Neustadt - Medical Center for Heart and Vascular Diseases
NOT_YET_RECRUITINGBad Neustadt an der Saale, Germany
-
Columbia University Medical Center
RECRUITINGNew York, New York, 10032, United States
-
Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center
RECRUITINGLebanon, New Hampshire, 03766, United States
-
Duke University
RECRUITINGDurham, North Carolina, 27710, United States
-
East Carolina University
RECRUITINGGreenville, North Carolina, 27858, United States
-
Emory University
RECRUITINGAtlanta, Georgia, 30308, United States
-
Frankfurt University Hospital
RECRUITINGFrankfurt, Germany
-
German Heart Center Berlin
RECRUITINGBerlin, Germany
-
German Heart Center Munich
NOT_YET_RECRUITINGMunich, Germany
-
HDZ-NRW Bad Oeynhausen
NOT_YET_RECRUITINGBad Oeynhausen, Germany
-
Heart Center Leipzig
RECRUITINGBerlin, Brandenburg, 13347, Germany
-
Heart Center, University of Freiburg
RECRUITINGFreiburg im Breisgau, Germany
-
Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf
RECRUITINGDüsseldorf, Germany
-
Hospital Samaritano Paulista
ACTIVE_NOT_RECRUITINGSão Paulo, Brazil
-
Hospital Universitário São Francisco na Providência de Deus
ACTIVE_NOT_RECRUITINGSão Paulo, Brazil
-
Hospital of the Brothers of Mercy Trier
RECRUITINGTrier, Germany
-
Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
ACTIVE_NOT_RECRUITINGCottingham, HU16 5JQ, United Kingdom
-
Hôpital Laval
RECRUITINGQuébec, G1V 4G5, Canada
-
Hôpital du Sacré-Cœur de Montréal
WITHDRAWNMontreal, Quebec, H4J 1C5, Canada
-
Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust
RECRUITINGLondon, England, United Kingdom
-
Indiana University
ACTIVE_NOT_RECRUITINGIndianapolis, Indiana, 46202, United States
-
Inova Health
ACTIVE_NOT_RECRUITINGFalls Church, Virginia, 22042, United States
-
Instituto de Pesquisa Clínica de Campinas
ACTIVE_NOT_RECRUITINGSão Paulo, Brazil
-
Instituto do Coração do Hospital das Clínicas da Faculdade de Medicina da USP-InCor-HCFMUSP
ACTIVE_NOT_RECRUITINGSão Paulo, Brazil
-
Intermountain CV Research
RECRUITINGMurray, Utah, 84107, United States
-
Jersey Shore University Medical Center
RECRUITINGNeptune City, New Jersey, 07753, United States
-
Johns Hopkins
RECRUITINGBaltimore, Maryland, 21287, United States
-
Kerckhoff Klinik, Bad Nauheim
RECRUITINGBad Nauheim, Germany
-
Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
RECRUITINGLiverpool, England, United Kingdom
-
London Health Sciences Centre
RECRUITINGLondon, Ontario, N6A 5A5, Canada
-
Lutheran Medical Center
ACTIVE_NOT_RECRUITINGFort Wayne, Indiana, 46825, United States
-
Maine Medical Center
RECRUITINGPortland, Maine, 04102, United States
-
Massachusetts General Hospital
RECRUITINGBoston, Massachusetts, 02114, United States
-
Mayo Clinic
RECRUITINGRochester, Minnesota, 55905, United States
-
MedStar Washington Hospital Center
RECRUITINGWashington D.C., District of Columbia, 20010, United States
-
Medical Center Braunschweig
NOT_YET_RECRUITINGBraunschweig, Germany
-
Medical Center of Aurora
ACTIVE_NOT_RECRUITINGAurora, Colorado, 80012, United States
-
Medical Center of the Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich
NOT_YET_RECRUITINGMunich, Germany
-
Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center
RECRUITINGHouston, Texas, 77030, United States
-
Mid America Health Institute
RECRUITINGKansas City, Missouri, 64111, United States
-
Montefiore Medical Center
RECRUITINGThe Bronx, New York, 10467, United States
-
Montreal Heart Institute
RECRUITINGMontreal, Quebec, H1T 1C8, Canada
-
Northwell Health System
RECRUITINGGreat Neck, New York, 11023, United States
-
Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust
RECRUITINGNottingham, United Kingdom
-
Ochsner Clinic
RECRUITINGNew Orleans, Louisiana, 70121, United States
-
Ohio State University Medical Center
ACTIVE_NOT_RECRUITINGColumbus, Ohio, 43210, United States
-
Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
ACTIVE_NOT_RECRUITINGOxford, OX3 9DU, United Kingdom
-
Piedmont Healthcare Inc.
RECRUITINGAtlanta, Georgia, 30309, United States
-
Royal Papworth Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
ACTIVE_NOT_RECRUITINGCambridge, United Kingdom
-
Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust
RECRUITINGWolverhampton, England, United Kingdom
-
Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
ACTIVE_NOT_RECRUITINGSheffield, United Kingdom
-
South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
RECRUITINGMiddlesbrough, United Kingdom
-
Stanford University
RECRUITINGStanford, California, 94305, United States
-
Suburban Hospital
ACTIVE_NOT_RECRUITINGBethesda, Maryland, 20814, United States
-
Sunnybrook Hospital
RECRUITINGToronto, Ontario, M4N 3M5, Canada
-
The Mount Sinai Hospital
WITHDRAWNNew York, New York, 10029, United States
-
Toronto General Hospital
NOT_YET_RECRUITINGToronto, Canada
-
University Heart Center Hamburg
NOT_YET_RECRUITINGBerlin, Brandenburg, 11353, Germany
-
University Hospital Bonn
RECRUITINGBonn, Germany
-
University Hospital Magdeburg
RECRUITINGMagdeburg, Germany
-
University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust
RECRUITINGSouthampton, United Kingdom
-
University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust
RECRUITINGBristol, BS1 3NU, United Kingdom
-
University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust
ACTIVE_NOT_RECRUITINGPlymouth, United Kingdom
-
University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust
RECRUITINGWorthing, BN11 2DH, United Kingdom
-
University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust
ACTIVE_NOT_RECRUITINGLeicester, United Kingdom
-
University Medical Center Frankfurt
NOT_YET_RECRUITINGFrankfurt, Germany
-
University Medical Center Göttingen
NOT_YET_RECRUITINGGöttingen, Lower Saxony, Germany
-
University Medical Center Halle
RECRUITINGHalle, Germany
-
University Medical Center Heidelberg
NOT_YET_RECRUITINGHeidelberg, Germany
-
University Medical Center Jena
RECRUITINGJena, Thuringia, Germany
-
University Medical Center Schleswig-Holstein Kiel
NOT_YET_RECRUITINGKiel, Germany
-
University Medical Center Schleswig-Holstein Lübeck
NOT_YET_RECRUITINGLübeck, Germany
-
University of Alberta Hospital
RECRUITINGEdmonton, Alberta, T6G2B7, Canada
-
University of Maryland
RECRUITINGBaltimore, Maryland, 21201, United States
-
University of Michigan
RECRUITINGAnn Arbor, Michigan, 48109, United States
-
University of Oldenburg
RECRUITINGOldenburg, Germany
-
University of Ottawa Heart Institute
NOT_YET_RECRUITINGOttawa, Canada
-
University of Pennsylvania
RECRUITINGPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania, 19104, United States
-
University of Pittsburgh Medical Center
WITHDRAWNHermitage, Pennsylvania, 16148, United States
-
University of Southern California
RECRUITINGLos Angeles, California, 90033, United States
-
University of Utah
RECRUITINGSalt Lake City, Utah, 84112, United States
-
University of Vermont
RECRUITINGBurlington, Vermont, 05401, United States
-
University of Virginia Health System
RECRUITINGCharlottesville, Virginia, 22908, United States
-
University of Wisconsin
ACTIVE_NOT_RECRUITINGMadison, Wisconsin, 53792, United States
-
WakeMed
WITHDRAWNRaleigh, North Carolina, 27610, United States
-
Washington University School of Medicine
RECRUITINGSt Louis, Missouri, 63110, United States
-
West Virginia University
RECRUITINGMorgantown, West Virginia, 26506, United States
-
Western Connecticut Hospital Systems
ACTIVE_NOT_RECRUITINGDanbury, Connecticut, 06810, United States
-
Yale Medicine
RECRUITINGNew Haven, Connecticut, 06520-8039, United States
More trials for these conditions
Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
- Spinal zaps could reboot breathing after brain injury
- Can brain scans reveal hidden language struggles after stroke?
- Can lifestyle choices after a stroke extend life and prevent a second one?
- A tablet test aims to catch hidden attention and memory problems after stroke
- Can a gentle ear zap supercharge stroke rehab at home?
- Can exercise boost reading recovery in stroke survivors?