Clot Killing Drugs For A Heart Attack | Medical News and Health Information

Reported May 18, 2011
Clot Killing Drugs For A Heart Attack -- Research Summary

WHAT ARE CLOT-BUSTING DRUGS? Clot-busting drugs, or thrombolytics, are drugs that are injected to break up or dissolve a blood clot in heart attack patients. Thrombolytics break up clots by forming an enzyme called plasmin that can break the bonds between the fibrin molecules that give a clot its structural integrity. (SOURCE: http://www.cvpharmacology.com/thrombolytic/)

Breaking up the blood clot unblocks the artery, which stops the heart attack and saves the heart from muscle damage. Use of a thrombolytic within 12 hours of a heart attack gives the patient a better chance of survival, but the sooner the clot-busting drugs are taken, the better. Thrombolytics work best for a heart attack if taken within three hours of the heart attack.

Clot-busting drugs are also useful for treating strokes. Many strokes are the result of a clot blocking the flow of blood to the brain. The clot-busting drugs can dissolve the clot and restore the flow of blood, limiting the damage and disability caused by the stroke. However, if the patient is having a hemorrhagic stroke, the clot-busting drug could increase the bleeding and worsen the stroke.
(SOURCE: http://www.webmd.com)

CAN YOU HAVE THROMBOLYTICS? Doctors take several factors into account when deciding whether or not to use clot-busting drugs to treat a heart attack or stroke. Some of them are:
• Age
• Gender
• Medical History: previous heart attacks, low blood pressure, diabetes, etc.

Doctors usually won’t give clot-busting drugs if:
• The patient has a recent head injury.
• The patient is pregnant.
• The patient has bleeding problems or bleeding ulcers.
• The patient is on blood-thinning medication.
• The patient has uncontrolled high blood pressure.

(SOURCE: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/)

RISKS OF THROMBOLYTICS: The major risk of clot-busting drugs is hemorrhaging, which can possibly be life-threatening. About 25 percent of patients who have received thrombolytics will experience bleeding from their gums or nose, and very rarely (in about 1 percent of cases), patients who have received thrombolytics will bleed into the brain. [Clot Killing Drugs For A Heart Attack -- Research Summary | Medical News and Health Information] MORE >> Clot Killing Drugs For a Heart Attack -- In Depth Doctor's Interview | Medical News and Health Information


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Deborah Mann Lake, Media Relations Specialist
University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
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Clot Killing Drugs For A Heart Attack | Medical News and Health Information