Patients On Anti-Coagulants - Be Careful Of What You Drink

Summary: Many heart patients are routinely placed on anti-coagulants. Anti-coagulants help keep blood thin and flowing freely through veins and arteries; decreasing the risk of heart attack and stroke. Heart patients with Atrial Fibrillation (AF), in particular, are advised to take anti-coagulants. Atrial fibrillation is the most common type of persistent, irregular heartbeat (cardiac arrhythmia). In atrial fibrillation, the heart's upper chambers beat irregularly, affecting blood ...

Many heart patients are routinely placed on anti-coagulants. Anti-coagulants help keep blood thin and flowing freely through veins and arteries; decreasing the risk of heart attack and stroke. Heart patients with Atrial Fibrillation (AF), in particular, are advised to take anti-coagulants. Atrial fibrillation is the most common type of persistent, irregular heartbeat (cardiac arrhythmia). In atrial fibrillation, the heart's upper chambers beat irregularly, affecting blood flow to the heart muscle and to the rest of the body. It increases the patient's risk of blood clots, which can cause strokes and what is known as TIA (transient ischemic attack). TIA is what most people refer to as a "mini-stroke", in which the patient suffers the effects of a stroke, but only for the short term. For patients with AF, the heart beat may return to normal on its own, or the doctor may use electrical shock to get the heart back into its normal rhythm. Some patients, however, do not respond to this therapy, and require anti-coagulants to prevent stroke and other complications. In addition to AF, other heart problems may also require treatment with anti-coagulants. Some doctors prescribe an aspirin each day for its blood thinning and anti-coagulant effects, but some patients require something stronger than the simple aspirin. For these patients, there are many prescription anti-coagulants and blood thinners from which doctors choose. Anti-coagulants do have side effects; the most prevalent of which is the inability of your blood to properly clot in the event of surgery, or other bleeding. It is, therefore, very important to inform your doctors that you are on anti-coagulants, and to stop taking them before you have surgery. In addition, anti-coagulants may interact negatively with other medications and cause complications. The most common anti-coagulant is warfarin, also known as coumadin. If your doctor prescribes warfarin, you should carefully follow all the recommendations that go along with warfarin, including having a thorough understanding of all the interactions. The most important things you should know about warfarin include: