ABSTRACT
Anticoagulant agents are used as adjuncts to reperfusion therapy to enhance the rates of infarct artery patency and to prevent reocclusion. The link between better and persistent epicardial flow, smaller infarct size, improved ventricular function, and prolonged survival has stimulated a series of trials intended to improve antithrombotic therapy for acute myocardial infarction (MI) (Fig. 1) (1). This chapter reviews the efficacy of anticoagulant agents in the settings of fibrinolytic therapy and primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI).
