Antiplatelet therapy in the elderly. Aspirin, ticlopidine-clopidogrel, and GPIIb/GPIIIa antagonists.
Antiplatelet agents including aspirin, dipyridamole, the thienopyridines, and the GPIIb/IIIa antagonists have collectively demonstrated their ability to have a significant impact on the incidence of recurrent MIs, strokes, and other vascular ischemic events in the geriatric population. Low-dose aspirin also seems to be effective and safe for the primary prevention of ischemic heart disease in men considered at high risk. There is no evidence that the recommendations from these studies had increased relevance to younger adults, and the studies considering age as a variable found antiplatelet agents had either similar or increased benefit in older patients. In view of the relatively reduced adverse effects of these agents when compared with their potential therapeutic benefit, it is important that they be considered in all older patients for secondary prevention and in certain high-risk groups for primary prevention of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality.
Division of Hematology, Department of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA.
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Calverley
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001241:Aspirin / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D000077144:Clopidogrel; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010975:Platelet Aggregation Inhibitors / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects; D019039:Platelet Glycoprotein GPIIb-IIIa Complex / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors*; D011379:Prognosis; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013923:Thromboembolism / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy*; D013988:Ticlopidine / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000031:analogs & derivatives*; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D010975:Platelet Aggregation Inhibitors; D019039:Platelet Glycoprotein GPIIb-IIIa Complex; D000077144:Clopidogrel; D013988:Ticlopidine; D001241:Aspirin