Heart Beat: Heparin: a risky bridge over troubled waters?
Heart Beat
Heparin: a risky bridge over troubled waters?
Warfarin keeps blood from clotting where it shouldn't, such as in a chamber of the heart, on a heart valve, or inside unbroken blood vessels. Millions of people take warfarin (Coumadin, generic) to prevent a clot-caused stroke, pulmonary embolism, or deep-vein thrombosis.
It isn't yet clear how best to handle warfarin when a colonoscopy, oral surgery, cataract removal, or other minor surgery is needed. There are three options — stay on warfarin (which increases the chances of bleeding during the procedure and for awhile afterward); stop taking warfarin for a few days before and after the procedure (which increases the chances of having a stroke or pulmonary embolism); or temporarily replace warfarin with heparin or another short-acting anticoagulant "bridge" (which increases the chances of bleeding).
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