Anticoagulation

Anticoagulation therapy makes use of drugs called anticoagulants, which reduce the body’s ability to form blood clots. These drugs inhibit the production of Vitamin K in the liver, which in turn, increases the time it takes for your blood to clot.

Although anticoagulants are sometimes called blood thinners, they actually do not thin out your blood. They will, however, help dissolve clots that have already formed and help prevent an existing clot from getting bigger.

Anticoagulants are a group of medications that decrease your blood’s ability to clot. They do that by breaking down existing clots or preventing new clots from forming.

Anticoagulants come in many different forms, including injections, intravenous (IV) drugs, and medications you take by mouth. They treat and prevent life-threatening conditions that can happen because of blood clots, such as heart attacks, strokes and pulmonary embolisms.

We treat disorders such as abnormal heart rhythm, heart attack, heart valve replacement,  stroke, deep vein thrombosis (clots in the thigh, leg, or pelvis), pulmonary embolism (clots that travel to the lungs) and a variety of other disorders.

The effectiveness of anticoagulation therapy can change over time due to changes in a patient’s diet, other medications or illnesses the patient may experience, or alcohol usage and lifestyle changes. Because of these changes, patients on oral anticoagulation medications require close monitoring of their blood clotting time, through lab tests, to maintain a desired therapeutic range to avoid unwanted blood clots, or excessive bleeding.

When blood clots work like they’re supposed to, they form at the site of an injury that needs repair and they stay there. However, when clots don't stay in one place, or form in your bloodstream, they can be dangerous. If a clot does not stay in place — and is too large — it can get stuck in a smaller blood vessel. If that smaller blood vessel is in a critical location, it can block blood flow that one of your organs needs to survive.

Blockages from blood clots can cause the following deadly events such as a stroke, pulmonary embolism, or heart attack.

Anticoagulants can also protect individuals who have a condition or disease that could cause them to have any of the above clot-related events. Some of these conditions include.

• Atrial fibrillation
• Heart valve surgery or replacement
• Hip or knee replacement
• Deep vein thrombosis
• Blood clotting disorders

Your healthcare provider is the one who can best explain the reasons you shouldn’t take anticoagulant medications. You should ask your healthcare provider if you shouldn’t take anticoagulants because of any other medications you take or conditions you have.

It depends on which medication you take and how you take it. Most IV and injectable anticoagulants aren’t meant for long-term use.

However, you can take many oral anticoagulants for longer periods. Depending on which one your healthcare provider prescribes, you may be able to take it indefinitely.