The Optimal Antithrombotic Dose of Aspirin

Clinical trials over the last decade have demonstrated that aspirin is an effective antithrombotic agent. Aspirin irreversibly inhibits the enzyme cyclo-oxygenase, which in the platelet is responsible for the production of thromboxane A2, a platelet-aggregating agent; and, in vascular wall cells, cyclooxygenase is responsible for the production of prostacyclin (PGI2), an inhibitor of platelet aggregation. Thus, aspirin has the potential to be …