ABSTRACT
Platelets have long been appreciated as having a key role in hemostasis and thrombosis, but they also participate in the cellular and molecular events involved in inammation, blood vessels remodelling, wound healing and atherosclerosis. Given the pivotal role platelets play in the pathologic processes that lead to cardiovascular disease, it is understandable that drugs that inhibit platelet function are eective in reducing the risk of stroke, myocardial infarction and death in high-risk patients. Antiplatelet therapy has also been shown to be benecial in the setting of carotid surgery, lower-extremity bypass and endovascular interventions such as percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA) and stenting. e focus of this review will be to review the pertinent aspects of platelet physiology that underlay the pharmacology of antiplatelet drugs and our understanding of how antiplatelet therapy is optimally employed in the management of common vascular problems.
