Antiplatelet Therapy

Synonyms

Platelet anti-aggregant drugs

Definition

Antiplatelet therapy uses specific pharmacological agents (antiplatelet drugs) to inhibit the ability of platelets to clump together to form blood clots or thromboses, primarily in arteries. Antiplatelet therapy is commonly used in people with atherosclerosis (narrowing of the arteries). Platelets are naturally occurring cells (actually, portions of cells) that circulate in the blood. They clump, or aggregate, under certain conditions to initiate the formation of blood clots. These platelet clumps are then further bound together by the protein, fibrin. Together, the fibrin and the platelet clump comprise the thrombus or blood clot. Thrombi are useful in that they stop bleeding in normal circumstances. When there is a break in an artery, allowing blood to leave the vessel, platelets become activated by attaching to the wall of the blood vessel at the site of the bleeding and by attracting fibrin and other coagulation factors to the area...