Genetic variation influences individual response to the anticlotting drug clopidogrel, otherwise known as Plavix, leaving the approximately 30% of Western Europeans who are poor metabolizers of the drag at an increased risk of a cardiac event while on treatment. Doctors could switch to newer, more potent antiplatelet drags that share the same drug target, but these are associated with increased risk of bleeding. It therefore seems unwise to use them on all patients. Theoretically," pharmacogenetic testing could be used for determining which drug should be prescribed on an individual basis, but, in an emergency situation, it does not seem feasible to wait on a genetic test result before moving forward with treatment. Point-of-care genetic testing could remove this barrier, and this is exactly what is tested in recent work reported by Roberts et al.
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