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Abstract: Heart disease is one of the leading causes of death in the United States, thus making it an important focus of attention in the clinical setting. When a patient presents with an ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction and subsequently undergoes a percutaneous coronary intervention, there are multiple recommendations and key differences between standards of care under American and European guidelines. One aspect where these guidelines differ is regarding which P2Y12 receptor inhibitor is recommended for initiating antiplatelet therapy. Cangrelor, the only parenteral P2Y12 receptor inhibitor on the market, is recommended for initial antiplatelet therapy in European but not American guidelines. Cangrelor offers benefits to specific patient populations, such as those who require an alternate form of medication administration and those who receive concomitantly administered opioids. The parenteral administration of cangrelor is advantageous when oral medication administration is not a feasible option or when given concomitantly with opioids, which slow gastrointestinal tract motility and absorption of oral P2Y12 receptor inhibitors. Thus, researchers conducted a systematic literature review examining 3 observational studies to determine the benefit of cangrelor’s administration versus the risks posed to patients. Through these observational studies, authors assessed the effect of cangrelor on patient outcomes in terms of adverse bleeding events and major adverse cardiovascular events. Largely, cangrelor showed results comparable to those of the other guideline-recommended orally administered P2Y12 receptor inhibitors. Although cangrelor showed comparable results, these trials had significant limitations that prevented the data's reliability. Further research is necessary to potentially update guideline-recommended medical therapy for cardiac patients presenting with an ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction in the future.