Clot Busters - Page 1
What Are Clot Busters?
Clot busting medications break up blood clots. During a heart attack, clot busters—also called thrombolytics—dissolve the blood clot that is blocking the artery and help restore blood flow to the heart. These medications are injected into the arm through an intravenous (IV) line. They are usually given to heart attack patients in the emergency department; however, they may sometimes be given in the ambulance en route to the hospital.
Benefits of Clot Busters
Women treated with clot busting drugs during a heart attack fare better than women who do not receive these medications. In an overview of nine research studies, clot busting medications reduced the risk of a woman dying within 35 days after a heart attack by 12%.1 The benefits are even greater if nonfatal complications are counted. An analysis of the national registry of heart attack patients (called the National Registry of Myocardial Infarction, or NRMI for short) found that 13% of women treated with the clot buster tissue plasminogen activator (tPA or Activase), died or had a stroke while in-hospital compared with nearly 21% of women who did not receive clot busting drugs.2 Even so, women did not benefit from clot busting drugs as much as men. Significantly more women treated with clot busters died or had a stroke compared with men treated with clot busters. This is partly because clot busters may be more likely to trigger a stroke in women than in men.
In terms of restoring blood flow to blocked arteries, clot busters work equally well in men and women.3 Why this does not translate into a similar reduction in death rates is unclear. Some researchers suggest that factors other than clogged arteries may play more of a role in women and elderly patients.2
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