dipyridamole

Dipyridamole, sold under the brand name Persantine among others, is an antiplatelet drug of the nucleoside transport inhibitor and PDE3 inhibitor class that inhibits blood clot formation when given chronically and causes blood vessel dilation when given at high doses over a short time.

==Medical uses== Dipyridamole is used to dilate blood vessels in people with peripheral arterial disease and coronary artery disease. Dipyridamole has been shown to lower pulmonary hypertension without significant drop of systemic blood pressure. It inhibits proliferation of smooth muscle cells in vivo and modestly increases unassisted patency of synthetic arteriovenous hemodialysis grafts. Cyclic adenosine monophosphate impairs platelet aggregation and also causes arteriolar smooth muscle relaxation. Chronic therapy did not show significant drop of systemic blood pressure. It inhibits the replication of mengovirus RNA. It can be used for myocardial stress testing as an alternative to exercise-induced stress methods such as treadmills. It is an experimental agent used for the treatment of restless leg syndrome, conditionally recommended by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine as a second-line treatment (conditional recommendation, low certainty of evidence).