ABSTRACT
Antiplatelet therapy is important in the treatment of acute coronary syndromes because it significantly reduces the incidence of major coronary events and ischaemic complications. The therapeutic approach to coronary diseases concentrates on the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying intracoronary thrombosis, a process in which platelets play a pivotal role, and which can be efficaciously controlled and prevented by antiplatelet therapy. Coronary thrombosis may occur unexpectedly at any stage in the evolution of atherosclerotic disease: it may represent the initial phase of plaque growth and repair (and thus cause the onset or worsening of angina), or lead to a partial or complete occlusion of the coronary lumen that is clinically manifested as an acute coronary syndrome.
