RT Book, Section A1 Michael, Tesfaldet T. A1 Gupta, Saurabh A2 Crawford, Michael H. SR Print(0) ID 1139743344 T1 Antiplatelet Therapy T2 CURRENT Diagnosis & Treatment: Cardiology, 5e YR 2017 FD 2017 PB McGraw-Hill Education PP New York, NY SN 9781259641251 LK accesscardiology.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=1139743344 RD 2023/12/03 AB Atherosclerosis is a leading cause of cardiovascular disease. Atherosclerotic plaques can acutely rupture, exposing a necrotic core that sets off the coagulation cascade, ultimately culminating in vascular occlusion. Activation of platelets is the initial event in this cascade and, depending on the vascular bed involved, can cause acute coronary syndromes, ischemic stroke, mesenteric ischemia, or acute limb ischemia. Antiplatelet therapy forms the core of treatment for both acute and chronic atherosclerotic disease. In this chapter, we will discuss antiplatelet therapy for treatment of cardiovascular disease.