Clopidogrel
medication that is used to reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke in those at high risk
Clopidogrel, sold under the brand name Plavix among others, is an antiplatelet medication used to reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke in those at high risk. It is also used together with aspirin in heart attacks and following the placement of a coronary artery stent (dual antiplatelet therapy). It is taken by mouth. Its effect starts about two hours after intake and lasts for five days.
Common side effects include headache, nausea, easy bruising, itching, and heartburn. More severe side effects include bleeding and thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura. While there is no evidence of harm from use during pregnancy, such use has not been well studied. Clopidogrel is in the thienopyridine-class of antiplatelets. It works by irreversibly inhibiting a receptor called P2Y12 on platelets.
Clopidogrel was patented in 1982, and approved for medical use in 1997.
The public source identifies “Clopidogrel” as medication that is used to reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke in those at high risk. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Clopidogrel, medication and used.
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This entry incorporates text from “Clopidogrel” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.