What Role Do Antiplatelet Drugs Play In Treatment After A Heart Attack?

Antiplatelet drugs are a class of medication that’s prescribed to treat people who have suffered a heart attack or have been diagnosed with coronary artery disease. These drugs prevent the formation of blood clots. Platelets are blood cells that group together to form blood clots with the purpose of stopping injuries.

What are antiplatelet drugs?

According to medical studies, ticagrelor and prasugrel are efficient in reducing blood clotting-related events (like strokes and heart attacks), even better in comparison to clopidogrel. However, there is also an increased risk of bleeding, as this is generally a side effect of all antiplatelet drugs.

What is dual antiplatelet therapy?

There are scenarios where patients require two antiplatelet drugs at the same time. One of these meds is usually aspirin, which might need to be taken throughout a person’s entire life. The other is typically a P2Y12 inhibitor, which might be prescribed for a period of months or years, and should be administered in parallel with aspirin.

The doctor will only prescribe this dual antiplatelet therapy method after assessing your risk of bleeding complications. Some examples are:

• Patients who have atherosclerosis with stent placement but haven’t yet suffered a heart attack will typically take clopidogrel over a duration of one to six months.
• Patients who have undergone coronary artery bypass surgery are generally required to take a P2Y12 inhibitor for one year after the procedure. After that, the patient might have to continue taking aspirin.
• Patients who have suffered a heart attack or had stent placement will typically be required to take a P2Y12 inhibitor for about six to twelve months after the incident.

Antiplatelet drugs administration

The doctor will provide detailed information on how to take your antiplatelet drugs. These are usually taken once or twice per day, preferably on a full stomach. You should inform your doctor about allergies to medication that contains naproxen, ibuprofen, or aspirin.

Some people who have ulcers, bleeding problems, or are scheduled for surgery sometime in the near future might have to avoid these because they can cause excessive bleeding. However, treatment with these types of drugs should never be discontinued unless the doctor says it’s OK.

Keep in mind that medication for treating colds might also contain aspirin, in which case you should consult with your doctor to see what your alternatives are in case you catch a cold. Antiplatelet drugs don’t usually go well with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.

Here are some other interactions you should be aware of:

• Clopidogrel may interact with certain heartburn and acid-suppression over-the-counter drugs.
• Grapefruit might interact with certain cholesterol-lowering medications, in case you’re taking any.
• Ibuprofen and similar drugs can interact with anticoagulants and blood-thinning medication, such as warfarin.

Antiplatelet drugs: What do you need to know about side effects?

Common side effects of these medications include itching and rashes, stomach pain, nausea, or an upset stomach. In general, taking these pills after eating should ease the symptoms of an upset stomach. There have been cases where taking an antiplatelet drug leads to the development of a gastric ulcer. To avoid such a situation, talk to your doctor about taking proton pump inhibitors, which can help shield the inner lining of your stomach.

However, more serious side effects are also possible. Pay attention to and contact your doctor immediately if you notice them:

• Dizziness and extreme headache.
• Blood in your urine or stool.
• Shortness of breath, wheezing, or difficulty in breathing.
• Bruises that are not caused by an injury that you know of.
• Chest pain or a sense of chest tightness.
• Sudden vaginal bleeding, abundant menstrual bleeding, or heavy bleeding from cuts.
• Coughing up blood.
• Nosebleeds.

However, it’s important to note that some of these side effects are to be expected. For instance, taking antiplatelet drugs makes you more sensitive to bruising and nosebleeds. Should you cut yourself, you might notice that bleeding lasts longer than it normally would.

Conclusion

Antiplatelet drugs have the role of preventing platelets from forming blood clots. While platelets serve an important purpose because they help fix sin injhuries, they can be quite problematic when the damage is done, let’s say, inside a coronary artery. As platelets will rush to form a blood clot to fix the damaged spot, these blood clots can end up completely blocking a coronary artery, which leads to a heart attack.

This is where antiplatelet drugs kick in: to make sure that people who have coronary artery disease are less likely to end up suffering from a heart attack caused by a blood clot getting in the way of proper blood flow. However, antiplatelet drugs do have some downsides, such as the fact that you will be bleeding more after a cut if you’re on treatment with this class of drug.