High Cholesterol HeartInfo Commentary Aspirin is one of the most effective drugs used to prevent heart attacks. It is, however, a non-specific medication. By using more specific medications, adverse side effects can be limited. Clopidogrel belongs to a class of drugs called thromboxane synthase inhibitors.
Aspirin drugs inhibit the production of molecules called prostaglandins, including thromboxane.
In turn, thromboxane causes platelets to clump together. This is an active field of drug development, not only for heart disease, but for all inflammatory conditions. Aspirin is likely to be replaced by these new drugs in the near future. The results were presented at the 49th annual meeting of the American College of Cardiology in Anaheim, California. Clopidogrel is called a super aspirin because, like aspirin, it helps prevent blood from clotting, but does it more effectively.