Warfarin is a medication taken by millions of people, who are vulnerable to the possibilities of experiencing a stroke, due to factors such as irregular heartbeat and blood-circulation issues. Warfarin works by thinning the blood and reducing the possibilities of blood-clots that irregular blood flow can sometimes cause. Whilst, it is a popular medication, endorsed by the majority of the medical community, it can also produce a variety of unpleasant side-effects such as bleeding and bruising and needs to be monitored regularly in order to ensure that its levels do not exceed what is considered to be harmful.
Recently, a new drug, rivaroxaban, has been piloted and pitted against warfarin patients – without the patient knowing which treatment they were taking. The new treatment has been found to be as effective as warfarin in thinning blood, but does not have to be monitored as rigorously as it is administered in a standardised-dose. Whilst, rivaroxaban, also has the potential to cause bleeding, it is thought that it is less likely to cause fatal bleeds, such as bleeding of the brain.
Whilst the medication is fairly new, it has already been approved to help prevent deep vein thrombosis and blood-clots, and has been enthusiastically received by many sections of the medical community, such as Dr. Manesh R Patel at Duke University in the US:
“You can’t eat broccoli and other vitamin-K rich foods” on warfarin, Patel said. In contrast, the new drug is taken once daily and has a more consistent effect. “It is a useful alternative with fewer drug-drug and drug-food interactions and may be significantly easier to take”.
For the many people who take warfarin on a daily basis, this is good news, as long-term warfarin use involves regular blood-tests that can be highly disruptive to schedules and life-styles.
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