Word: warfarin
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...double-binded study published in today's Journal, Yale Medical School cardiologist Dr. Michael D. Ezekowitz confirms a number of previous studies demonstrating that low doses of warfarin, an anticlotting drug, prevent strokes in patients with a condition known as atrial fibrillation...
...Associate Professor of Medicine and Health Care Policy Dr. Daniel E. Singer, who was involved in a previous Boston-area study of warfarin, cautions in an editorial published in the same issue that some complications are possible if patients are not monitored carefully...
Doctors estimate that of 500,000 strokes sustained by U.S. residents every year, 15 percent, or 75,000, are linked to atrial fibrillation. Warfarin has the capability to prevent up to 80 percent of these 75,000 strokes, Singer said...
...Warfarin, known in North America by its trade name Coumadin, works by blocking Vitamin K-de-pendent factors involved in clotting activation. But because warfarin slows clotting, the drug can be dangerous to patients prone to ulcers or head injuries, which can cause life-threatening internal bleeding...
Interrupting the study left several questions unanswered. Most important, the researchers do not yet know which of the two drugs is more effective. Since aspirin is safer and easier to administer, doctors would prefer to use it exclusively. But warfarin, a prescription drug that is commonly used to prevent blood clots in the heart and lungs, could turn out to do the job better. The study also suggests that aspirin is ineffective in patients over 75 years...