http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. Blood thinners are the preferred treatment option to prevent heart attacks, blood clots and stroke, but they are not without risk, and not just because of their side effects. These high-risk drugs, known as anticoagulants, account for nearly 7 percent of medication errors in hospitalized patients. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-blood-thinner-medication-errors.html Cardiology Wed, 22 May 2013 09:22:34 EST news288433347 As hospitals look for ways to improve patient satisfaction and boost their Medicare reimbursement, a Henry Ford Hospital study found that an inpatient pharmacist-directed anticoagulation service (PDAS) might be an unexpected opportunity. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-pharmacist-directed-anticoagulation-impact-patient-satisfaction.html Health Fri, 10 May 2013 16:34:09 EST news287422439 The Journal of Neurosurgery Publishing Group is pleased to announce publication of two new studies on dabigatran etexilate (Pradaxa®) and intracranial hemorrhage: one in the Journal of Neurosurgery and the other in Neurosurgical Focus. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-papers-dabigatran-etexilate-pradaxa-intracranial.html Surgery Wed, 01 May 2013 10:34:33 EST news286623265 A study led by researchers at the University of North Carolina indicates that a newly approved blood thinner that blocks a key component of the human blood clotting system may increase the risk and severity of certain viral infections, including flu and myocarditis, a viral infection of the heart and a significant cause of sudden death in children and young adults. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-newly-blood-thinner-susceptibility-viral.html Medical research Mon, 01 Apr 2013 13:05:02 EST news284040294 New research from the UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center, published in the Journal of Surgical Research, may help clinicians determine which patients are at highest risk for post-surgical blood clots in the legs or lungs. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-physicians-post-surgical-venous-thromboembolisms.html Surgery Wed, 20 Mar 2013 13:44:33 EST news283005817 (HealthDay)—In the search for better medicines to safely help heart patients, clinical trials testing three new drugs appear to offer some promise. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-drugs-heart-patients-edge.html Cardiology Mon, 11 Mar 2013 12:20:02 EST news282219442 (HealthDay)—Men with advanced prostate cancer might live longer when they are taking blood-thinning medication, a small study suggests. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-blood-thinners-boost-survival-prostate.html Cancer Thu, 21 Feb 2013 18:20:01 EST news280691667 (HealthDay)—People who need to take a blood thinner because they've had a clot in the deep veins of their legs appear to do better with the new drug Pradaxa (dibigatran) than with the older drug warfarin, researchers report. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-blood-thinner-older-drug-vein.html Medications Wed, 20 Feb 2013 18:50:01 EST news280606326 Strokes that occur during or shortly after surgery can be devastating, resulting in longer hospital stays and increased risks of death or long-term disability. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-surgery-devastating.html Cardiology Mon, 11 Feb 2013 16:31:44 EST news279822644 Despite receiving blood thinners and other clot prevention treatment, some patients still develop potentially lethal blood clots in the first month after their operations anyway, especially if they developed a surgical-site infection while in the hospital, according to results of a study at Johns Hopkins. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-surgical-site-infections-deadly-blood-clots.html Surgery Wed, 16 Jan 2013 03:31:46 EST news277529489 Rates of hemorrhage for older patients on warfarin therapy are much higher than rates reported in clinical trials, found a study published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal). http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-hemorrhage-warfarin-higher-clinical-trials.html Cardiology Mon, 26 Nov 2012 12:50:55 EST news273156648 Research from the Rothman Institute at Jefferson has shown aspirin to be just as effective as warfarin in preventing clots, specifically pulmonary emboli, life-threatening blood clots that can develop in the arteries of the lungs following joint replacement surgery. Their research was recognized as one of the best poster presentations at the recent American Association of Hip and Knee Surgeons meeting in Dallas. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-aspirin-effective-clots-joint-surgery.html Cardiology Thu, 08 Nov 2012 10:04:01 EST news271591419 Research shows that use of popular antidepressants is linked to an increased risk of some strokes caused by bleeding in the brain, but that the risk is low, according to a multi-study analysis published in the October 17, 2012, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-antidepressants-linked.html Neuroscience Wed, 17 Oct 2012 16:00:01 EST news269697112 A computerized checklist system designed to help physicians identify and use the best methods of preventing potentially deadly blood clots in hospitalized trauma patients dramatically reduced the number of these dangerous venous thromboembolisms (VTEs), new Johns Hopkins research suggests. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-deadly-blood-clots-computerized-checklist.html Cardiology Mon, 15 Oct 2012 16:00:08 EST news269513264 (AP)—Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. and France's Sanofi SA said Wednesday that they are restructuring their longtime partnership selling popular heart medications, now that their sales are plunging due to widespread competition from generic versions. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-bristol-myers-sanofi-revamp-plavix-sales.html Medications Wed, 03 Oct 2012 13:27:45 EST news268489657 A novel blood thinner recently approved by the FDA, dabigatran (Pradaxa), has been rapidly adopted into clinical practice, yet thus far has had little impact on improving treatment rates for atrial fibrillation. This is according to a new study led by researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health that examined national trends in oral anticoagulant use. They found that despite rapid adoption of dabigatran for the treatment of atrial fibrillation, a large proportion of patients–two in five–did not receive oral anticoagulant therapy. In addition, although the majority of dabigatran utilization was for its FDA-approved indication, atrial fibrillation, an increasing proportion of use was for off-label indications such as venous thromboembolism. The results are featured in the September 2012 issue of Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-undertreatment-common-heart-condition-persists.html Cardiology Fri, 21 Sep 2012 16:25:54 EST news267463547 (HealthDay)—A full year of aggressive anti-clotting therapy—which can lead to heavy bleeding—may not be needed after surgery to implant a drug-coated cardiac stent, two new studies suggest. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-year-risky-blood-thinners-unnecessary.html Cardiology Thu, 20 Sep 2012 18:01:43 EST news267382896 Men and women who undergo joint replacement procedures, as well as those who have significant fractures, tend to be at an increased risk of developing pulmonary emboli (PE), blood clots that travel to the lungs where they may cause serious complications and even death. Patients are often aggressively treated with anticoagulants, or blood thinners, to help prevent the clots from forming, but a study published in the September 2012 issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons indicates that some blood clots being identified by today's sensitive testing methods may not require aggressive treatments. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-anti-clotting-therapy-orthopaedic-surgery-trauma.html Surgery Sat, 01 Sep 2012 04:24:29 EST news265692254 Ticagrelor, a blood-thinning drug approved by the FDA in 2011, should be considered along with older blood thinners clopidogrel and prasugrel for treating patients who are experiencing chest pain or some heart attacks, according to joint updated guidelines issued by the American Heart Association (AHA) Task Force on Practice Guidelines and the American College of Cardiology (ACCF) Foundation. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-ahaaccf-guidelines-unstable-angina-blood-thinning.html Cardiology Mon, 16 Jul 2012 15:03:11 EST news261669774 (HealthDay) -- Newer blood-thinning drugs sometimes have one drawback: In cases where they trigger bleeding, their effects can be tough to reverse compared to the standard anticoagulant, warfarin. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-quick-reversal-method-blood-thinner.html Medications Wed, 20 Jun 2012 16:52:27 EST news259429851 (HealthDay) -- The new blood thinner Xarelto appears to lower the chances of potentially fatal blood clots in high-risk heart patients, a U.S. Food and Drug Administration review has found. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-blood-thinner-chances-clots-high-risk.html Medications Mon, 21 May 2012 21:30:01 EST news256843717 Patients with atrial fibrillation (A-fib) who cannot take blood thinners now have an alternative to reduce their risk of stroke, which is five times more common in people with the rhythm disorder. The non-surgical procedure works by tying off the left atrial appendage (LAA), the source of most blood clots leading to stroke in patients with A-fib. Northwestern Medicine heart rhythm specialists from the Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute were the first to perform this procedure in Illinois. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-procedure-patients-a-fib-blood-thinners.html Cardiology Mon, 07 May 2012 17:01:32 EST news255628879 (AP) -- In a case that challenges Britain's definition of murder, a severely disabled man who says his life has no "privacy or dignity" will be granted a hearing on his request that a doctor be allowed to give him a lethal injection. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-british-court-right-to-die-case-proceed.html Other Mon, 12 Mar 2012 17:08:37 EST news250790911 (HealthDay) -- Aspirin works as well as Plavix in patients with blocked leg arteries, a new European study finds. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-aspirin-good-plavix-poor-leg.html Cardiology Wed, 22 Feb 2012 18:10:01 EST news249151072 (Medical Xpress) -- Preventive use of blood thinners, or anticoagulants, in  people receiving outpatient treatment for cancer could prevent the development of blood clots and improve their quality of life, according to a study led by Margaret Ragni, M.D., Ph.D., professor of medicine within the division of hematology/oncology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. The results will be presented at the 53rd annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology (ASH) on Saturday, Dec. 9. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-12-blood-thinners-cancer-patients.html Cancer Tue, 13 Dec 2011 09:40:01 EST news242989970 Atrial Fibrillation patients who are prescribed the powerful blood thinner warfarin often take it with vitamins or supplements that can hamper its effectiveness, or skip doses completely, increasing their risk for stroke, according to new research. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-heart-patients-vitamins-medication.html Cardiology Mon, 14 Nov 2011 17:33:08 EST news240514381 In a new clinical practice guideline published today in Annals of Internal Medicine, the American College of Physicians (ACP) recommends that doctors assess the risk of thromboembolism and bleeding in patients hospitalized for medical illnesses, including stroke, before initiating therapy to prevent venous thromboembolism (VTE). http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-10-acp-approach-venous-thromboembolism-hospitalized.html Other Mon, 31 Oct 2011 17:00:01 EST news239289843 Women received nearly the same quality of care as men at hospitals using the American Heart Association's Get With The Guidelines®–Heart Failure program, according to a study reported in Circulation: Heart Failure, an American Heart Association journal. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-08-men-women-equal-guidelines.html Cardiology Tue, 23 Aug 2011 16:46:22 EST news233336507 A new and simple risk score may aid physicians in gauging the likelihood that a common drug will cause a hemorrhagic stroke or other major bleeding in patients with atrial fibrillation, potentially allowing wider but safer use of the effective drug. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-08-scorecard-patients-highest-blood-thinners.html Medical research Thu, 04 Aug 2011 09:40:01 EST news231669054 When tennis star Serena Williams underwent emergency treatment for a pulmonary embolism earlier this year, the world's attention was drawn to this often fatal medical condition which, although surprisingly not uncommon, is unfamiliar to most men and women. A common risk factor associated with clot development is surgery; particularly hip and knee replacement surgery. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-07-joint-surgery-blood-clot-formation.html Other Wed, 27 Jul 2011 10:44:39 EST news230982258