Combination Antithrombotic Therapies

A therothrombosis is the major pathophysiological process responsible for the occurrence of severe ischemic events in patients with cardiovascular diseases.In the United States, atherothrombosis strongly influenced mortality in 2004: One in 2.8 deaths was due to CVD, 1 in 5 deaths to coronary heart disease, and 1 in 17 deaths to stroke. 1 Because cardiovascular disease is a progressive and systemic disease, long-term antithrombotic therapies that effectively target the entire arterial vasculature and modulate the key components responsible for thrombus generation are essential to improve patient outcomes.Because platelet activation is determined by multiple receptor-mediated signaling pathways, clinical studies have evaluated the efficacy of multidrug administration in the prevention of atherothrombotic complications. 2,3The major concern with these therapies is the critical balance between anti-ischemic effect and bleeding risk.This review summarizes our understanding of the role of combination antiplatelet therapies in the treatment and prevention of atherothrombosis.