Anticoagulant medicines

About

Anticoagulants are medicines that help prevent blood clots. They're given to people at a high risk of getting clots, to reduce their chances of developing serious conditions such as strokes and heart attacks. A blood clot is a seal created by the blood to stop bleeding from wounds. While they're useful in stopping bleeding, they can block blood vessels and stop blood flowing to organs such as the brain, heart or lungs if they form in the wrong place. Anticoagulants work by interrupting the process involved in the formation of blood clots. They're sometimes called "blood-thinning" medicines, although they don't actually make the blood thinner. Although they're used for similar purposes, anticoagulants are different to antiplatelet medicines, such as low-dose aspirin and clopidogrel. A commonly prescribed anticoagulant is warfarin. Newer types of anticoagulants, sometimes called direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs), are also commonly used. These are: rivaroxaban dabigatran apixaban edoxaban Warfarin and the newer alternatives are taken as tablets or capsules. There's also an anticoagulant called heparin that can be given by injection. Read more about heparin on the Electronic Medicines Compendium (EMC) website. If a blood clot blocks the flow of blood through a blood vessel, the affected part of the body will become starved of oxygen and will stop working properly. Depending on where the clot forms, this can lead to serious problems such as: strokes or transient ischaemic attacks ("mini-strokes") heart attacks deep vein thrombosis (DVT) pulmonary embolism Treatment with anticoagulants may be recommended if your doctor feels you're at an increased risk of developing one of these problems. This may be because you've had blood clots in the past or you've been diagnosed with a condition such as atrial fibrillation that can cause blood clots to form. You may also be prescribed an anticoagulant if you've recently had surgery, as the period of rest and inactivity you need duri