Dipyridamole Health Dictionary

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Dipyridamole: From 2 Different Sources

A drug that reduces the stickiness of platelets in the blood and thereby helps to prevent the formation of abnormal blood clots within arteries. Dipyridamole is used with aspirin or warfarin to prevent the formation of clots following heart-valve surgery. It may also be given to people who have had a recent myocardial infarction or undergone a coronary artery bypass. Dipyridamole may also reduce the frequency of transient ischaemic attacks. Possible adverse may include headache, flushing, and dizziness.
Health Source: BMA Medical Dictionary
Author: The British Medical Association
n. a drug that dilates the blood vessels of the heart and reduces platelet aggregation. It is given by mouth to prevent thrombosis around prosthetic heart valves. It may cause headache, stomach upsets, and dizziness. A combination of modified-release dipyridamole and aspirin is given to prevent recurrent stroke in patients who have had a transient ischaemic attack or an ischaemic stroke.
Health Source: Oxford | Concise Colour Medical Dictionary
Author: Jonathan Law, Elizabeth Martin

Anticoagulants

Anticoagulants are drugs which inhibit COAGULATION of the blood. They are used to prevent and treat abnormal clotting of the blood, to treat THROMBOSIS, and sometimes to prevent or treat STROKE or TRANSIENT ISCHAEMIC ATTACKS OR EPISODES (TIA, TIE). Anticoagulant drugs are also prescribed preventively in major surgery to stop abnormal clotting from occurring; HAEMODIALYSIS is another procedure during which these drugs are used. Anticoagulants are also prescribed to prevent thrombi (clots) forming on prosthetic heart valves after heart surgery.

The drugs are much more e?ective in the treatment and prevention of venous clotting – for example, deep vein thrombosis (DVT), see under VEINS, DISEASES OF – than in preventing thrombosis formation in arteries with their fast-?owing blood in which thrombi contain little ?brin (against which the anticoagulants work) and many PLATELETS.

The main anticoagulants now in use are the natural agent HEPARIN (a quick-acting variety and a low-molecular-weight long-acting type); synthetic oral anticoagulants such as WARFARIN and the less-often-used acenocoumarol and PHENINDIONE; and antiplatelet compounds such as ASPIRIN, clopidogrel dipyridamole and ticlopidines. Fondaparinux is an extract of heparin which can be given once daily by injection; ximelagatran, an inhibitor of thrombin, is being trialled as the ?rst new oral anticoagulant since heparin.

Patients taking anticoagulants need careful medical monitoring and they should carry an Anticoagulant Card with instructions about the use of whatever drug they may be receiving – essential information should the individual require treatment for other medical conditions as well as for thrombosis.... anticoagulants

Antiplatelet Drugs

Drugs that reduce the tendency of platelets to stick together to form blood clots when blood flow in the arteries is disrupted. This action reduces the risk of thromboembolism, which can cause potentially fatal disorders such as a myocardial infarction or stroke. Aspirin and dipyridamole are commonly used antiplatelet drugs. Others, such as ticlopidine, are used specifically to protect against clots forming in the coronary arteries of people with angina.... antiplatelet drugs

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