The Cardiology Associates Anticoagulation Clinic was closed as of
February 1, 2005. Patients are being referred to St. Luke Hospital
Anticoagulation Clinic, or to St. Elizabeth Medical Center
Anticoagulation Clinic.
What are Anticoagulants?
Anticoagulants help reduce clots from forming in the blood.
Anticoagulants are used to prevent and treat blood clots in
the legs and lungs, use is associated with an irregular,
rapid heartbeat called “atrial fibrillation,” and with
patients' with heart-valve replacement.
If you have had a heart attack, anticoagulants are used to
lower the risk of death, another heart attack, stoke, and
the risk of blood clots.
Anticoagulants reduce the body’s ability to make blood
clots. It can also help stop harmful clots from getting
larger.
Blood tests
Doctors determine anticoagulant dosage by performing blood
tests. This test is called a prothrombin time test, or
protime (PT). This is reported as International Normalized
Ratio (INR). This test determines how fast your blood is
clotting and whether your dosage should change. Blood
tests may be taken as often as every day at the beginning
of treatment. This could taper off from once a week to
once a month.
Interactions
Anticoagulants interact with many drugs. For this reason it
is important for you to check with your physician before
starting, stopping or changing any drug.
Drugs that interact with anticoagulants are: acetaminophen
(Tylenol), aspirin and aspirin-containing ointments and skin
creams, ibuprofen (Motrin, Advil, Nuprin), naproxen (Aleve,
Orudis KT), crimetidine (Tagamet), ranitidine (Zantac) and
vitamin supplements containing vitamin K.
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