[Main antithrombotic drugs in the therapy and prevention of arterial and venous thrombosis].

The author reviews the use of the main antithrombotic drugs (thrombolytics, dicumarol compounds, heparins and anti-platelet drugs) in the treatment and prophylaxis of the main nosographic syndromes of arterial and venous thrombosis. In the context of arterial thrombosis the paper initially reports the results of the main controlled trials on ischemic cardiopathy (treatment of acute infarction, primary and secondary prophylaxis for re-infarction, post-infarction ventricular thrombosis, stable and instable coronary angor, percutaneous angioplasty, aortocoronary by-pass, stent, valve prosthesis, atrial fibrillation). Turning to peripheral arteriopathies the treatment of acute attacks is death with separately from prophylactic treatment (reduction of atheromatous progression, improved vascular perfusion, reduction of concomitant cardiac and cerebral events, behaviour of carotid stenoses). Vascular cerebropathy is examined during the acute (treatment of ictus in early days) and later phases (prophylaxis of recidivation of ictus). With regard to venous thrombosis, the paper separates the treatment of profound thrombosis and pulmonary embolism (often secondary to the former) from prophylaxis of profound thrombosis; the latter is classified into forms occurring during general surgery (abdominal, pelvic, urologic), orthopedic surgery (hip prosthesis, gonopathies) and general medicine. The author ends the review by making a schematic analysis of the areas of elective use of the above antithrombotic drugs with reference to the nosographical forms examined in the paper.