“The question of whether antithrombotic therapy should be suspended in a patient who
will be undergoing an invasive procedure involves balancing the risk of postproce-
dural bleeding with continued treatment against the thrombotic risk with suspension
of treatment and use of bridging anticoagulation therapy. In general, a patient under-
going a procedure that is associated with a low risk of bleeding (low-risk procedure)
can safely continue antithrombotic therapy and should do so, particularly if the pa-
tient is at high risk for a thromboembolic event (high-risk patient). Conversely, a pa-
tient undergoing a high-risk procedure can temporarily discontinue antithrombotic
agents safely if the patient is at low risk for a thromboembolic event (low-risk patient).”