An antithrombotic agent is a drug that reduces the formation of blood clots (
thrombi
A thrombus (plural thrombi), colloquially called a blood clot, is the final product of the blood coagulation step in hemostasis. There are two components to a thrombus: aggregated platelets and red blood cells that form a plug, and a mesh of cr ...
).
[http://cancerweb.ncl.ac.uk/cgi-bin/omd?antithrombotic ] Antithrombotics can be used therapeutically for prevention (
primary prevention,
secondary prevention) or treatment of a dangerous blood clot (acute thrombus). In the U.S., the
American College of Chest Physicians publishes
clinical guideline
Clinical may refer to: Healthcare
* Of or about a clinic, a healthcare facility
* Of or about the practice of medicine Other uses
* ''Clinical'' (film), a 2017 American horror thriller
See also
*
*
* Clinical chemistry, the analysis of bodily flu ...
s for clinicians for the use of these drugs to treat and prevent a variety of diseases.
Processes
Different antithrombotics affect different blood clotting processes:
*
Antiplatelet drug
An antiplatelet drug (antiaggregant), also known as a platelet agglutination inhibitor or platelet aggregation inhibitor, is a member of a class of pharmaceuticals that decrease platelet aggregation and inhibit thrombus formation. They are effecti ...
s limit the migration or aggregation of
platelet
Platelets, also called thrombocytes (from Greek θρόμβος, "clot" and κύτος, "cell"), are a component of blood whose function (along with the coagulation factors) is to react to bleeding from blood vessel injury by clumping, thereby i ...
s.
*
Anticoagulants limit the ability of the
blood to clot.
*
Thrombolytic drug
Thrombolysis, also called fibrinolytic therapy, is the breakdown (lysis) of blood clots formed in blood vessels, using medication. It is used in ST elevation myocardial infarction, stroke, and in cases of severe venous thromboembolism (massive ...
s act to dissolve clots after they have formed.
See also
*
Direct Xa inhibitor
Direct factor Xa inhibitors (xabans) are anticoagulants (blood thinning drugs), used to both treat and prevent blood clots in veins, and prevent stroke and embolism in people with atrial fibrillation (AF).
Medical use
Direct factor Xa inhibito ...
*
Warfarin
References
External links
Antithrombotic Therapy/ American Society of Hematology
Antithrombotic agents
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