Aggrastat for chest pain

What is Aggrastat prescribed for?

Aggrastat is used for patients having chest pain that lasts longer than typical angina and that is not controlled by the medicines that are usually effective for angina. Aggrastat prevents blood clots from forming, thereby reducing the number of patients having heart attacks or needing heart surgery.

Who should not be treated with Aggrastat?

You should not be given Aggrastat if you ever had the following conditions:

• Bleeding in the brain, brain tumor or ballooning of a blood vessel in the brain
• History of reduced number of platelets in the blood from prior treatment with Aggrastat

You should not be given Aggrastat if within the past 30 days you have had:

• Medical diagnosis of internal bleeding or of unusual tendency toward bleeding
• Medical diagnosis of stroke
• Major surgery or trauma

You should also not be given Aggrastat if now:

• Your doctor sees signs of ongoing injury to the aorta (the large blood vessel that carries blood from the heart) or signs of pericarditis (inflammation of the sac surrounding the heart)
• You have very high blood pressure (greater than 180/110)
• You are being treated with eptifibatide (Integrilin)

General Precautions:

Aggrastat should be used with caution if you have a decreased blood platelet count or disease of the retina of the eye associated with bleeding.

There are some things that you should tell your doctor when taking this medication:

Because certain medications can interact with Aggrastat, review all medications that you are taking with your doctor, including those that you take without a prescription. Make sure that you inform your doctor if you are taking or have taken another drug that affects blood clotting such as Coumadin or warfain.

What side effects can you expect when taking Aggrastat? (This is only a partial list of side effects reported with Aggrastat. Ask your doctor or pharmacist for a complete list of possible side effects and drug interactions..)

The most common complication reported during testing of the product was excessive bleeding. The increased bleeding is why some people (those who have had recent surgery, and other examples mentioned above) should not be given Aggrastat.

Other possible side effects occurring in at least 3% or more of the people studied:

• Pelvic pain
• Slow heart rate
• Tear in the coronary artery
• Leg pain
• Dizziness

For more detailed information about Aggrastat, ask your doctor.

Common Misspelling: agrastat, aggrestat, agrestate, agerstat