Summary
Antiplatelet therapy has a key role in preventing atherothrombotic events in patients
with coronary artery disease, particularly in those undergoing revascularisation procedures.
However, this may occur at the expense of an increase risk of bleeding. Therefore,
the balance between thrombotic and bleeding events is critical in order to achieve
optimal outcomes. Since there is a broad variability in individual response profiles
to antiplatelet therapy, these outcomes (thrombosis vs. bleeding) may depend on the
level of platelet inhibition achieved in a given subject. Platelet function assays
have emerged as a useful tool for its potential to determine patients at a higher
risk of ischaemic and bleeding complications. The present manuscript will review the
available evidence associating platelet function testing with adverse clinical outcomes,
in particular bleeding, and their potential applications in lieu of novel and more
potent antithrombotic agents that will be introduced into clinical practice in the
near future.
Keywords
Platelet pharmacology - antiplatelet agents - bleeding