They also don't have the same drug and food interactions that warfarin does. Craig January, co-chairman of the guideline update group. Besides highlighting the usefulness of new blood thinners for most people with a-fib, the guidelines also highlight the importance of losing weight if you have the condition.
Atrial fibrillation causes the heart to beat erratically.
How does this medication work? What will it do for me?
The upper chambers of the heart atria normally beat smoothly, moving blood through the heart. When this happens, blood pools up and clots may form. Once the heart is beating normally again, those clots can be thrown into your bloodstream. That can cause a stroke by blocking a blood vessel in the brain. A-fib causes up to 20 percent of strokes, according to the AHA.
While there are several treatments for a-fib, blood thinners anti-coagulants have long been a mainstay. They reduce stroke risk by making it less likely that pooled blood will clot. For many years, warfarin was the drug used for this purpose.
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But patients on warfarin need to have their blood monitored, typically about once a month, January said. There are also many healthy foods that people taking warfarin are told to avoid, including green vegetables like broccoli.
Weight Loss & Blood Thinners
People with mechanical heart valves and moderate to severe mitral-valve narrowing should still use warfarin. These drugs, introduced in the past decade, are as effective as warfarin and less potentially risky, says Peter Noseworthy, M. A new French study, published in the Annals of Family Medicine , on 1, adults followed for one year, found that those who used VKAs had nearly twice the risk of death from any cause as those who used DOACs.
A study published in the journal Stroke found that people taking a newer blood thinner were about 50 percent less likely to have a brain bleed than those taking warfarin. But they can still increase the risk of bleeding and can affect kidney and liver function , so your doctor will need to check for these at least twice yearly. But there are differences you may want to ask your doctor about.
For instance, apixaban was associated with the lowest risk of major bleeding in a study published in the journal Chest , and the lowest risk of gastrointestinal bleeding in elderly adults compared with dabigatran and rivaroxaban in a study published in the journal Gastroenterology in Dabigatran carries an approximately 10 percent risk of heartburn so severe that patients have to switch drugs, Noseworthy says.
Know your dosage. About 16 percent of patients got the wrong dosage, according to a study published in in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. Time it right. Take it at the same time each day; effects wear off rapidly. Ask your doctor what you should do if you miss a dose.
Cardiologist Groups Say Newer Blood Thinners Best Against A-Fib - Consumer Health News | HealthDay
Report side effects. The newer drugs can cause serious, even fatal, bleeding. The risk of GI bleeding is slightly higher than with warfarin. If you need to switch from apixaban to warfarin, you may need to take both medicines together for a few days. While apixaban has enormous benefits, the downside is that it can make you bleed more than normal. If it happens, keep taking the apixaban, but tell your doctor if the bleeding bothers you or does not stop.
While you're taking apixaban, be careful when you do activities that might cause an injury or a cut or bruising. Occasionally, you can have serious bleeding from taking apixaban. This can be dangerous and needs urgent medical attention. The most common side effect is bleeding more easily than normal, such as having nosebleeds, heavier periods, bleeding gums and bruising. This can cause a very severe headache, fits seizures , changes to your eyesight, numbness or tingling in your arms or legs, and make you feel very tired, weak or sick.
If you suddenly get any of these symptoms, contact your doctor immediately. This is an emergency. They're usually mild and do not last long, but talk to your doctor or pharmacist if these side effects bother you or do not go away:. In rare cases, apixaban can cause a serious allergic reaction anaphylaxis. These are not all the side effects of apixaban. For a full list, see the leaflet inside your medicines packet. You can take paracetamol while you're taking apixaban. Do not take aspirin or ibuprofen while you're taking apixaban unless a doctor has said it's OK to.
They increase the chance of bleeding.
Rivaroxaban
Do not take St John's wort, the herbal remedy for depression, while you're taking apixaban. It can increase your risk of side effects. Tell your doctor or pharmacist if you're taking any other medicines, including herbal medicines, vitamins or supplements.
Blood clotting thickening is a complicated process involving substances called clotting factors. They work with blood cells called platelets that trigger the clotting process to make sure your blood clots properly. Apixaban works by stopping a clotting factor called factor Xa working. This thins your blood so it takes longer to clot. There do not seem to be any lasting harmful effects from taking it for many months or even years. If you stop taking apixaban, the rate at which your blood clots will return to what it was before you started taking it, usually within a day or two of stopping.
This means that you may be at increased risk of serious problems like stroke , heart attack , deep vein thrombosis or pulmonary embolism. They include rivaroxaban , dabigatran , edoxaban and warfarin. Talk to your doctor or pharmacist to find out why you have been recommended a particular medicine.
You can drink alcohol while taking apixaban as long as you stick to the advice not to drink more than 14 alcohol units a week. A standard glass of wine ml is 2 units. A pint of lager or beer is usually 2 to 3 units of alcohol. Drinking heavily, especially binge drinking lots of alcohol in one go, is dangerous while taking apixaban. Because of the risk of bleeding, your dose of apixaban may need to be lowered or stopped a few days before you have an operation. You should also tell anyone else involved with your care, such as your anticoagulant specialist, so they can make arrangements.
But tell your dentist that you're taking apixaban, and show them your anticoagulant alert card, before you have any treatment. Most people do not need to change their apixaban dose, but your dentist may contact your doctor for advice before starting the dental treatment. But if you have any concerns about your hair while taking this medicine or you notice any changes, speak to your doctor or pharmacist.
It's important to tell them that you're taking apixaban in case there's any bleeding at the site of the injection.
Apixaban does not affect any type of contraception, including the combined pill and emergency contraception. There's no firm evidence to suggest that taking apixaban will reduce fertility in either men or women.