Classification
- Anticoagulants
- Anti-platelet agents
- Thrombolytic agents
Anticoagulants
- Hirudin
- Heparin
- Fondaparinux
- Vitamin K antagonists (coumarin)
- Direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs)
Hirudin
Hirudin and its derivatives are natural anticoagulants isolated from the saliva of leeches. They are direct thrombin inhibitors.
- Hirudin (natural)
- Lepirudin (recombinant hirudin)
- Bivalirudin (+antiplatelet activity)
- Argatroban (small-sized molecule)
Used in cardiac catheterization (as a replacement for GP IIb/IIIa antagonists), intravenously in the case of heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT), and topically for local hematomas.
Heparin
Heparins are sulfated polysaccharide polymers that catalyze the binding of antithrombin III to clotting factors and inactivate them.
- Indirect