Blood coagulation is one of the common issues that results in heart-related serious problems like stroke and attack. Anticoagulants are the drugs that are used to treat and prevent blood clots, which may occur in your blood vessels. There are several blood coagulants and the most common among them are Warfarin and Heparin.
A blood clot in the veins may cause DVT or deep vein thrombosis and other serious problems such as pulmonary embolism, etc. The blood clot blocks blood vessels (an artery or a vein) and due to this, it prevents the blood and oxygen from getting to a part of your body. There are several treatment options available to reduce blood clotting. Here comes the work of Anticoagulants.
Working of the drug anticoagulants:
The anticoagulants work by interfering with the chemicals that are required by blood clotting factor for the process of blood clotting. Warfarin and other anticoagulants like acenocoumarol and phenindione work by blocking the working of Vitamin K that is required in some blood clotting factors. The medicines take at least two or three days to work fully.
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Other famous anticoagulants are:
- Dabigatran
- Apixaban
- Rivaroxaban, etc.
Cases of anticoagulants use:
If you already have a blood clot then the anticoagulants might be prescribed to you in order to reduce the chances of the clot becoming bigger in size. It is also given if a person is at risk of having a blood clot. The following cases of patients are subjected to take anticoagulants:
- People having fast and irregular heartbeat also known as atrial fibrillation. A mechanical heart valve.
- People with severe Infection of the heart, known as endocarditis.
- People who have a partially opened valve in the heart or mitral stenosis
- Patients with blood disorders that is supposed to change the nature of blood clots
- People who had a replacement hip or knee surgery.
Blood clotting treatment using anticoagulants:
Heparin: it is a fast acting blood coagulant. It is administered by a needle inserted into your vein (IV), or an injection under your skin. It acts very fastly if it is given IV. Heparin doesn’t cost much and gets into the blood quickly to thin the blood. As soon as the drip is removed heparin also gets dripped off.
Warfarin: it is currently the most prescribed blood clotting medicine. It is a long-term anticoagulant meant for blood thinning. Heparin is for short term and warfarin is taken for the long term. The level of warfarin in the blood must reach a particular level till it starts acting in the blood. The doctor may prescribe you warfarin along with heparin to make it reach the certain level. It is also inexpensive and comes in the form of a pill.
New Anticoagulant or Anti-Clotting Medications
There are several new anticoagulant drugs and medications that are approved by USFDA or United stated Food and Drug administration.
These drugs are safe proven and these are recommended by doctors for the patients who are suffering from atrial fibrillation or Afib. Here are such new Anticoagulating drugs:
- Apixaban (Eliquis)
- Dabigatran (Pradaxa)
- Rivaroxaban (Xarelto)
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The drugs that are proven safe for the treatment of DVT and Pulmonary embolism are:
- Rivaroxaban
- Apixaban
- Dabigatran (Pradaxa)
These drugs are expensive, but these are safer than other anticoagulants. These drugs have less drug/herbal interactions, less fatal bleeding events, and have less need for frequent lab monitoring. These medicines act very quickly and do not require overlapping with heparin to work. Along with these new drugs, many supplements that reduce blood clotting are also available in the market
