Need for a Point-of-Care Assay for Monitoring Antiplatelet and Antithrombotic Therapies

Geoffrey A. Donnan MD, FRACP Stephen M. Davis MD, FRACP Section Editors: The Framingham studies instituted by the National Institutes of Health in the 1950s identified the major risk factors for the development of cardiovascular disease. Specific lipid-lowering drugs and a variety of blood pressure-lowering drugs were developed to better mange these cardiovascular disease risk factors. Along with the use of these therapeutic modalities, the means to monitor risk factors after medical intervention was also developed. However, despite the fact that antiplatelet therapies are in use for a lot longer than statin therapy, no simple, specific, cost-effective assays are available for monitoring antiplatelet therapy.The need for such an assay for monitoring antithrombotic therapies is greater in patients with stroke. According to the American Heart Association update,1 on an …