title: Antiplatelet agents in acute coronary syndromes.
abstract: Plaque disruption, platelet activation, and intracoronary artery thrombus formation are the key events in the pathogenesis of acute coronary syndromes. Antiplatelet therapies significantly reduce the risk of ischemic complications both during the acute phase and in the long term in patients with acute coronary syndromes. Aspirin remains the cornerstone of antiplatelet therapy, but there is incremental benefit when clopidogrel or ticlopidine is added to aspirin. Dual antiplatelet therapy with the combination of clopidogrel and aspirin is becoming the new standard of care for the management of patients with non-ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndrome and undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention and is currently being further evaluated in ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndrome.
authors.affiliation: Department of Haematology, Royal Perth Hospital and Department of Medicine, University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA, Australia.
authors.forename: John W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Eikelboom
authors.forename: Sonia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Anand
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D017130:Angioplasty; D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000188:drug therapy*; D006801:Humans; D015539:Platelet Activation / Q000187:drug effects; D010975:Platelet Aggregation Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D013577:Syndrome
chemical_list: D010975:Platelet Aggregation Inhibitors