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.

References

External links

Antithrombotic Therapy
/ American Society of Hematology Antithrombotic agents {{blood-drug-stub