An antithrombotic agent is a drug that reduces the formation of blood clots (
thrombi).
[http://cancerweb.ncl.ac.uk/cgi-bin/omd?antithrombotic ] Antithrombotics can be used therapeutically for prevention (
primary prevention,
secondary prevention
Preventive healthcare, or prophylaxis, is the application of healthcare measures to prevent diseases.Hugh R. Leavell and E. Gurney Clark as "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life, and promoting physical and mental health a ...
) or treatment of a dangerous blood clot (acute thrombus). In the U.S., the
American College of Chest Physicians publishes
clinical guidelines 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 drugs limit the migration or aggregation of
platelet
Platelets or thrombocytes () are a part of blood whose function (along with the coagulation#Coagulation factors, coagulation factors) is to react to bleeding from blood vessel injury by clumping to form a thrombus, blood clot. Platelets have no ...
s.
*
Anticoagulant
An anticoagulant, commonly known as a blood thinner, is a chemical substance that prevents or reduces the coagulation of blood, prolonging the clotting time. Some occur naturally in blood-eating animals, such as leeches and mosquitoes, which ...
s limit the ability of the
blood to clot.
*
Thrombolytic drugs act to dissolve clots after they have formed.
See also
*
Direct Xa inhibitor
*
Warfarin
Warfarin, sold under the brand name Coumadin among others. It is used as an anticoagulant, anticoagulant medication. It is commonly used to prevent deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism, and to protect against stroke in people who ha ...
References
External links
Antithrombotic Therapy/ American Society of Hematology
Antithrombotic agents
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