Geisinger cardiologists participate in study comparing two blood thinners

DANVILLE, PA -  Three Geisinger interventional cardiologists - Drs.. James Blankenship, Kimberly Skelding, and Peter Berger were the only American members of an international team of researchers comparing the effectiveness of an expensive new blood thinner, bivalirudin, to an inexpensive old blood thinner, heparin during angioplasty, also called a percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). The results of the large randomized study appear in the August issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

The study showed that heparin was as good as bivalirudin in preventing blood from clotting as well as at preventing other complications that may occur during and shortly after an angioplasty procedure, although heparin caused more bleeding. According to Peter Berger, MD, who helped design the study, “Results of this study will help physicians’ choose the safest and most cost effective blood thinner during angioplasty.

James Blankenship, MD	Kimberly Skelding, MD	Peter Berger, MD