A 51-year-old member asked:
What are the differences between an anticoagulant and an anti-platelet agent medication?
1 doctor answer • 1 doctor weighed in

Dr. Calvin Weisbergeranswered
53 years experience
Drugs: antiplatelet drugs interfere with platelet aggregation. Anticoagulant drugs interfere with the coagulation cascade. Antithrombotic is a term covering both kinds of clot medication.
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
3k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
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A 31-year-old member asked:
What is the difference between anti-platelet drug and anticoagulant?
2 doctor answers • 4 doctors weighed in

Dr. Jerry Routhanswered
Internal Medicine 48 years experience
Different Actions: Anticoagulants are medicines which keep the blood from clotting by action on factors in the blood which are needed to stop bleeding. Oral examples would include warfarin and a new agent pradaxa. Anti-platelet medications interfer with platelet function making them less "sticky" hence less likely to cause a thrombus. Oral examples would include aspirin, plavix, (clopidogrel) and effient.
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
6.3k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
Last updated Feb 2, 2017
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