How do you translate, "Do I need a clot buster"?

Question

On a recent post, heart attacks were discussed. I began to wonder how I could say, "Do I need a clot buster?" in Spanish.

There is a history of heart attacks in my family, with my sister having had three heart attacks.(She was 35 when she had the first one) Each time she has had a thrombolytic agent (clot buster) administered. This agent must be given without delay. My father had three heart attacks as well, the last one being fatal. My sister is at the moment, on vacation in Costa Rica. I want to give her the proper term to use in case of an emergency.

I made a search on this site but could not find the answer. Can anyone help?

Answer 1

You probably want to ask for an "anticoagulant", or "anticoagulante" in Spanish.

¿Necesito un anticoagulante?

I'm going to edit this respose because of comment discussion below. We've used heparin (an anticoagulant) as an immediate response to blood clots since I have been in health care (1969). Some new drugs might be better (i.e. Lovenox), but are very expensive and would not likely be available in most Latin American countries.

I'm not completely comfortable with the original question. If you are in a position to ask if you need a clot altering medication, you might not be able to get the words out. It might be better to somehow communicate with health care professionals that your family has a history of blood clots and rely on them to make the decision about what you need.

That said, I appreciate stadt's responses. If you ask for a thrombolytic or an anticoagulant, the health care professional will get the message and respond accordingly.

Thanks to everybody, and I hope it works out for you.

Anti-coagulant would imply blood thinner, for clot buster you probably want thrombolytic - Stadt, Nov 30, 2010

Gracias, dogwood. - Brynleigh, Nov 30, 2010

Most commonly used when a blood clot is found is heparin, an anticoagulant. An aspirin is the best quick treatment. - 0066c384, Nov 30, 2010

In the setting of a STEMI, within 12 hours of onset, in the absence of rapid access to PTCA, a fibrinolytic would be used. - Stadt, Nov 30, 2010

Aspirin and anticoagulants would be used as added therapy in that case (or without a thrombolytic in the setting of a NSTEMI) - Stadt, Nov 30, 2010

I appreciate the edit- I was just trying to give the answer to the question (how to ask if a thrombolytic was indicated in the setting of an acute MI)- I agree there are many areas of the world tPA, SK, etc. would not be available. - Stadt, Nov 30, 2010

Thanks. Stadt, I appreciate this information. :) - Brynleigh, Dec 1, 2010

Answer 2

The two options I find right away are:

Terapia trombolítica

Terapéutica trombolítica

Thanks, Stadt. - Brynleigh, Nov 30, 2010