Therapy with thrombolytic agents in coronary artery disease

Over the past two decades, new thrombolytic agents with sufficient pharmacologic potency and acceptable clinical safety profiles to treat thrombotic vascular occlusive syndromes, such as acute myocardial infarction, pulmonary embolism, acute peripheral and arterial thrombotic occlusions, and deep vein thrombosis, have been developed and evaluated. The evolution of thrombolysis and its application to clinical cardiology came as a consequence of understanding the systems of coagulation and fibrinolysis and their role in the pathogenesis of acute coronary syndromes.