Antiplatelet therapy in coronary heart disease. Emerging strategies for the treatment and prevention of acute myocardial infarction.

Platelets, long recognized for their role in physiological (protective) hemostasis, have been shown conclusively to play an intricate role in both coronary arterial atherogenesis and acute thrombosis. Accordingly, antiplatelet agents have emerged as a prominent feature in treatment strategies designed to prevent and directly confront the progression and thrombotic complications of coronary heart disease in humans. Antiplatelet therapy, used alone or in combination with thrombin antagonists and thrombolytics must be explored with continued enthusiasm to assure growth of this treatment modality.