What's Hot in Clots: November 2026

Leeches and lice, zombies and vampires on the dot. Here comes What’s Hot in Clots!

(I know this is the November issue, but I had to pay homage to Halloween!) 

The leech extract is back to spook us again!

Dozens of trials and pooled analyses have discussed bivalirudin-based regimens in patients with acute coronary syndromes undergoing PCI. Another pooled analysis came out, and again, it suggests reduction in both death and major adverse cardiovascular events. Read more.

 Zombie cells go rogue

When was the last time I reviewed or covered something from Geroscience? If I don’t remember, you shouldn’t feel guilty, either! But this one is cool. They show that senescence of cardiac fibroblasts and endothelial cells resulted in amplified fibrinogen polymerization and reduced fibrinolysis. Read more.

Novel antiplatelet agents: Benefits from the thrombosis world to Transylvania!

We have aspirin, clopidogrel, prasugrel, and ticagrelor. (Really? You didn’t think I’d pass those off as “novel,” did you?) I’m talking about a plethora of novel pathways and new antiplatelet agents: some in phase III trials, some in early-stage investigations. What am I personally excited about? Novel P2Y12 inhibitors, new IIb/IIIa inhibitors, and glycoprotein VI inhibitors. Read more.

An anticoagulant without the bleeding horror?

Let’s end on a positive note. This analysis from OCEANIC-STROKE did not show an increase in major bleeding with asundexian compared with placebo. Can I be honest? I wasn’t surprised and was saying to myself, “mehhh.” What caught my attention was that even major or clinically relevant nonmajor bleeding wasn’t different in this trial of over 12,000 participants with reference to placebo. Read more.