You may have been placed on an anti-coagulant, also known as blood thinners, by your Horizon Vascular Surgeon or another physician. There are several medications that are commonly used to treat your vascular condition and we will provide a basic review of them here, including the pros and cons. If you have questions, please feel free to schedule an appointment with your vascular surgeon to discuss.
To note, anti-coagulants do not “thin the blood”, even though they are referred to as blood thinning medications. They work on a part of the body’s blood clotting mechanism to inhibit clotting. In other words, they interfere with the body’s normal clotting ability to help prevent new clots from forming.
Name | Pro | Con |
Warfarin (Coumadin) Usual starting dose 10mg |
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Enoxaparin (Lovenox) Usual dose 1mg/kg of weight |
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Heparin Dosage adjusted by PTT level which varies on what the medication is being used to treat |
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Rivaroxaban (Xarelto) Loading dose of 15mg twice daily x 21 days, then 20mg daily for duration of treatment |
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Apixaban (Eliquis) Loading dose of 10mg twice daily for 7 days, then 5mg daily for duration of treatment |
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Finally, a word about aspirin and clopidogrel (Plavix):
They are not true anticoagulants, like the above medications, in that they do not interfere with the body’s ability to clot blood. They are anti-platelet medications which reduces platelet activation. In other words, they help make blood less sticky. Aspirin and Plavix are used commonly in cardiac and vascular patients who have had recent endovascular procedures. They help keep stents open.