AIM: To investigate the impact of dual antiplatelet therapy (DAT) in patients on antivitamin K (AVK) regimen requiring percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI).METHODS: Between February 2006 and February 2008, 138 consecutive patients under chronic AVK treatment were enrolled in this registry. Of them, 122 received bare metal stent implantation and 16 received drug elutingstent implantation. The duration of DAT, on top of AVK treatment, was decided at the discretion of the clinician. Adequate duration of DAT was def ined according to type of stent implanted and to its clinical indication. RESULTS: The baseline clinical characteristics of patients reflect their high risk, with high incidence of comorbid conditions (Charlson score ≥ 3 in 89% of the patients). At a mean follow-up of 17 ± 11 mo, 22.9% of patients developed a major adverse cardiac event (MACE): 12.6% died from cardiovascular disease and almost 6% had an acute myocardial infarction. Major hemorrhagic events were observed in 7.4%. Adequate DAT was obtained in only 44% of patients. In the multivariate analysis, no adequate DAT and Charlson score were the only independent predictors of MACE (both P = 0.02). CONCLUSION: Patients on chronic AVK therapy represent a high risk population and suffer from a high MACE rate after PCI. An adequate DAT regimen and absence of comorbid conditions are strongly associated with better clinical outcomes. AIM: To investigate the impact of dual antiplatelet therapy (DAT) in patients on an active K (AVK) regimen requiring percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). METHODS: Between February 2006 and February 2008, 138 consecutive patients under chronic AVK treatment were enrolled in this The duration of DAT, on top of AVK treatment, was decided at the discretion of the clinician. Adequate duration of DAT was defied according to type of stent implanted and to its clinical indication. RESULTS: The baseline clinical characteristics of patients reflect their high risk, with high incidence of comorbid conditions (Charlson score ≥ 3 in 89% of the patients). At a mean follow-up of 17 ± 11 mo , 22.9% of patients developed a major adverse cardiac event (MACE): 12.6% died of cardiovascular disease and almost 6% had an acute myocardial infarction. Major hemorrhagic events were observed In the multivariate analysis, no adequate DAT and Charlson score were the only independent predictors of MACE (both P = 0.02). CONCLUSION: Patients on chronic AVK therapy represent a high risk population and suffer from a high MACE rate after PCI. An adequate DAT regimen and absence of comorbid conditions are strongly associated with better clinical outcomes.