Treatment of Blood Clots

Abstract

This Cardiology Patient Page will focus on medical treatment of blood clots that can cause critical illness by blocking the blood supply to the heart, brain, lungs, or legs. Blood clots that develop in the arteries can cause heart attack, stroke, and severe leg pain and difficulty walking. Blood clots in the veins or venous system can cause deep venous thrombosis (DVT) in the pelvic, leg, and upper extremity veins. When these DVTs break off and travel through the bloodstream to the heart and then to the lung blood vessels, they cause acute pulmonary embolism (PE).1 Treatment of arterial clots may include aspirin and clopidogrel (oral antiplatelet agents), intravenous antiplatelet agents, heparin (a blood thinner and anticoagulant), and clot busters (thrombolytic agents). In addition to medications, special interventional catheters may be used to remove or compress these arterial clots. ### Antiplatelet Agents Chewing an adult-strength aspirin tablet (325 mg) at the onset of heart attack symptoms can improve survival by 20%.2 Consequently, healthcare professional personnel administer aspirin to patients who may be experiencing a heart attack, thereby avoiding further injury to the heart muscle before the arrival of emergency medical services.3 The Clopidogrel in Unstable angina to prevent REcurrent events (CURE) Trial showed that clopidogrel, another oral antiplatelet agent, given in conjunction with aspirin, reduces the risk of death even further in the setting of certain types of heart attacks.4 Intravenous antiplatelet agents may also be used to treat impending or evolving heart attacks in combination with aspirin and clopidogrel. This triple antiplatelet therapy is highly potent and predisposes the patient to bruising. However, major bleeding complications, such as stomach ulcer …