An antiplatelet drug is a member of a class of pharmaceuticals that decreases platelet aggregation and inhibits thrombus formation. They are effective in the arterial circulation, where anticoagulants have little effect. Pharmacology (in Greek: pharmacon (φάρμακον) is drug, and logos (λόγος) is science) is the study of how chemical substances interact with living systems. ... A 250 ml bag of newly collected platelets. ... A thrombus is the final product of blood coagulation, through the aggregation of platelets and the activation of the humoral coagulation system. ...
They are widely used in primary and secondary prevention of thrombotic cerebrovascular or cardiovascular disease.
See also:anticoagulant drug, thrombolytic drug A very old bottle of Aspirin Aspirin or acetylsalicylic acid is a drug in the family of salicylates, often used as an analgesic (against minor pains and aches), antipyretic (against fever), and anti-inflammatory. ... Clopidogrel, which is often prescribed under the brand name Plavix ® (clopidogrel bisulfate; produced by Bristol-Myers Squibb and Sanofi-Synthelabo), is a potent oral antiplatelet agent often used in the treatment of coronary artery disease, peripheral vascular disease, and cerebrovascular disease. ... Ticlopidine is a drug used for its antiplatelet action. ... A phosphodiesterase inhibitor is a drug that blocks one or more of the five subtypes of the enzyme phosphodiesterase (PDE), preventing the inactivation of the intracellular second messengers, cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) and cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP). ... Abciximab (previously known as c7E3 Fab), distributed by Eli Lilly under the trade name ReoPro®, is a platelet aggregation inhibitor mainly used during and after coronary artery procedures like angioplasty to prevent platelets from sticking together and causing thrombus (blood clot) formation within the coronary artery. ... Dipyridamole is a drug that inhibits platelet aggregation. ... An anticoagulant is a substance that prevents coagulation; that is, it stops blood from clotting. ... Thrombolytic drugs are used in medicine to dissolve blood clots in a procedure termed thrombolysis. ...
The new therapy adds a fourth drug to the three-drug regimen that is frequently prescribed after a heart attack to break up clots that block arteries carrying the heart's critical blood supply.
The addition of the fourth drug - an antiplatelet medication called clopidogrel, marketed commercially under the name Plavix - reduced the odds of a second heart attack by 31 percent and also reduced the odds of dying from heart-related causes and of needing emergency bypass surgery to restore blood flow to the heart.
Though bleeding is a concern with antiplatelet medications such as aspirin, the rate of major bleeding in the clopidogrel group was 1.3 percent, similar to the 1.1 percent in the placebo group.