Highlights the role of platelet aggregation in atherosclerosis and suggests focusing therapy on antiplatelet agents rather than anticoagulants.
By initiating and then sustaining the thrombotic process without involving the mechanisms of blood clotting, platelet aggregation plays a significant, if not yet fully defined, role in atherosclerosis and its complications. This finding suggests a new focus in therapy: the use of agents that inhibit platelet function (of which several are available) in preference to those that primarily affect coagulation.
J. F. Mustard (Sat,) studied this question.