Strokes and transient ischemic attacks (also known as mini-strokes) can be the result of a blood clot in the cerebral arteries. These cardiovascular events can cause permanent brain damage. Aggrenox is a commonly prescribed blood-thinning medication that combines aspirin and dipyrimadole in order to prevent blood clots.
Indications
Aggrenox combines two different medications that are known as antiplatelet agents. As Medline explains, this medication is used to help prevent strokes in patients who are at a high risk of having or who have already had a stroke. This medication works by keeping the blood from clotting excessively. This medication does not prevent patients from having strokes, but it does make them less likely. Use of Aggrenox, according to Drugs.com, reduces the risk of stroke by 6 percent.
Platelets and Clotting
Platelets are small cells in the blood that are responsible for initiating the formation of a blood clot when a blood vessel is damaged. Clots begin as small clumps of platelets that stick together. Aspirin and dipyridamole work to keep platelets from forming these clumps. Excessive platelet clumping can lead to blood vessels in the brain becoming blocked by a blood clot, leading to a stroke.
Mechanism
Aspirin and dipyridamole, according to RXList.com, work in separate ways to keep platelets from sticking together. Aspirin blocks a protein called platelet cyclooxygenase, which makes a chemical (thromboxane A2) that causes platelets to stick together. Dipyridamole, on the other hand, keeps platelets and other blood cells from taking in a compound called adenosine. This allows adenosine to bind to the outside of the platelets, which desensitizes them to chemical signals that promote clotting.
Administration
Aggrenox, according to Medline, comes in a tablet that should be swallowed whole with water. Typically, the tablet is taken twice per day, once in the morning and once in the evening. RXList.com explains that dipyrimadole is better absorbed when taken with food, but food also increases adenosine levels in the blood, so that the effects cancel out. Consequently, this medication can be taken with or without food.
Side Effects
Patients taking Aggrenox may experience a headache and joint pain. Because the aspirin can irritate the lining of the stomach, some patients may experience nausea, stomach pain and vomiting. Because this medication interferes with blood clotting, some patients may experience abnormally heavy bleeding. If the bleeding occurs in the stomach, the patient may develop melena, which is a black and tarry stool caused by bleeding into the digestive system.
