Aggrastat

Aggrastat side effects November 2005

What is Aggrastat used 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.

What should I tell my doctor or health care provider?

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. Tell your doctor if you are taking
another drug that affects blood clotting such as Coumadin or warfain.

What are some possible side effects of Aggrastat? (This is NOT a
complete list of side effects reported with Aggrastat. Your health care
provider can discuss with you a more complete list of side effects.)

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 health
care provider.