Status of Antiplatelet Drugs in Coronary Heart Disease
- Jawahar Mehta, MD;
- Paulette Mehta, MD
Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text.
Excerpt
A RECENT report suggesting prevention of cardiac death after myocardial infarction in patients given sulfinpyrazone1 has renewed interest in antiplatelet drugs within the medical profession. During the last few years, it has become clear that blood platelets are involved in arterial and venous obstruction and in the origin of smooth-muscle hypertrophy and possibly atherogenesis. If altered platelet function is related to the pathogenesis of coronary disease and subsequent cardiovascular mortality and morbidity, the use of antiplatelet drugs in patients with coronary heart disease would be rationalized. Our purpose is to review information on the role of platelets in coronary artery disease and to show how antiplatelet drugs might affect platelet function and thereby influence coronary vascular disease.
Role of Platelet Function in Coronary Artery Disease In animal models of myocardial ischemia induced by experimental coronary narrowing, platelet aggregates appear within a short time in coronary vessels.2,3 These aggregates
Footnotes
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This article is one of a series sponsored by the American Heart Association, edited by C. Richard Conti, MD.
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Reprint requests to Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, University of Florida, Box J-277, JHM Health Center, Gainesville, FL 32610 (Dr J. Mehta).
