Antiplatelet drugs - Antiplatelet drugs

or who are in particular conditions at risk for the formation of thrombus. The formation of the latter causes obstruction of blood vessels (both venous and arterial) leading to more or less serious consequences, sometimes fatal, depending on the type of vessel affected by the obstruction. In particular, the formation and detachment of a thrombus can lead to: thrombophlebitis, superficial thrombosis, deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolism, coronary artery embolism, heart attack and stroke.

The antiplatelet drugs currently available are different and act through different mechanisms of action. The choice to use a certain type of drug rather than another must be made by the doctor.

The dispensing of antiplatelet drugs can only take place in pharmacies and only upon presentation of a medical prescription. However, some of them are available only and exclusively for hospital use.

and the dangerous consequences that could derive from it (thrombotic events). More specifically, antiplatelet drugs - acting through different mechanisms of action - are able to inhibit the activation of platelets during blood clotting processes.

The antiplatelet agents currently used in the therapeutic field are many and belong to different classes of drugs capable of acting in a more or less direct way on the mechanisms underlying platelet aggregation, therefore at the basis of coagulation and thrombus formation.

In the course of the article, the different types of antiplatelet drugs and their mechanism of action will be briefly described.

o stroke, in patients with unstable angina pectoris, or with chronic stable angina pectoris;

Prevention of cardiovascular events in patients with overt atheromatous disease and in patients on hemodialysis;

Prevention of thrombosis in patients undergoing extracorporeal circulation;

Treatment of arterial thromboembolytic disease.

Depending on the medicine used and the type of active ingredient contained, the therapeutic indications may be slightly different.