Posted on 06/28/2023 1:06:45 PM PDT by ConservativeMind
Most stroke patients taking the anticoagulant warfarin were no more likely than those not on the medication to experience a brain bleed when undergoing a procedure to remove a blood clot researchers report in a study. The findings could help doctors better gauge the risk of endovascular thrombectomy (EVT), potentially expanding the pool of eligible patients for this mainstay stroke treatment.
"Warfarin is a type of blood thinner commonly used to prevent stroke because of heart conditions such as atrial fibrillation. Although not very common, patients taking warfarin may still experience a stroke. In clinical practice, it's very possible that some physicians may withhold an endovascular thrombectomy because patients have been treated with warfarin before their strokes.
EVT—a surgery that removes the clot by threading instruments through blood vessels—is the most common treatment for acute ischemic stroke. However, Dr. Xian explained, EVTs can sometimes cause symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage (sICH), a dangerous brain bleed that can be fatal. Although warfarin is a known risk factor for bleeding, it's been unknown whether the risk of sICH following EVT is higher for stroke patients who have been on the blood thinner.
…The researchers compared a variety of outcomes for the 3,087 patients who took warfarin prior to stroke and the 29,628 patients who did not take any blood thinner.
After adjusting for differences, the researchers found no difference in overall risk of sICH or other adverse outcomes in patients in these two groups. However, patients with an international normalized ratio (INR) greater than 1.7—a measure of clotting tendency of blood in patients taking warfarin—the risk of experiencing sICH increased by about 4%.
Except for higher risk of bleeding, these patients with INRs greater than 1.7 were no more likely than those not taking warfarin to die or have worse functional outcomes at discharge.
(Excerpt) Read more at medicalxpress.com ...
I am on a high dose of warfarin. If I have to go into the hospital for any surgery I am required to show up 5 days ahead of time to get off warfarin and on to Heparin. Upon completion of the surgery I must stay in the hospital till I am off heparin and back on my proper dose of warfarin.
Even if it is just a short check like a colonoscopy.
Those vax clots are not made of blood but some kind of fiber. Ordinary blood thinners don’t work on those.
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