| Coumadin |
 |
Coumadin(warfarin) is
a blood thinner drug that has been used for the last 50 years to prevent
blood clots in legs as well as to prevent strokes. It was originally used
as a rat poison in early wars to cause fatal bleeding. While the drug was
able to prevent a potentially fatal blood clot, it can also increase the
risk in hemorrhagic stroke and other bleeding disorders if taken long term.
Normal coumadin therapy usually consists of titrating to maintain a anti-coagulant
range of 2.0-3.0 International Normalization Radio (“INR”) for
3-12 months. When the therapy is terminated, it is not uncommon to find
that the blood clots return. Recent researcher Paul Ridker did a study on
the low dose long term use of coumadin . The study involved 508 patients
with a history of blood clots who were given a low dose of coumadin and
they were followed for a median of 6 months with the end point of maintaining
the anti-coagulation range of 1.5-.25 INR. The patients in the study were
divided them into 2 groups: one group received low dose coumadin and the
other group received a placebo. The progress was monitored every 2 months
and the data was reviewed once a year. After 4 years, the researchers ended
the study earlier than intended when the data showed that a low dose coumadin
program was able to significantly reduce venous blood clots without causing
major bleeding episodes. 37 of the 253 patients receiving the placebo had
recurring blood clots but only 14 of the 255 patients in the low dose coumadin
group did. Furthermore, women receiving coumadin showed a 80% reduction
in the recurrence of venous blood clots while men receiving coumadin showed
a 53% reduction. For those people who require blood thinning but cannot
tolerate anything else, coumadin taken at low dose is much better than the
regular dose. This study was reported in the New England Journal of Medicine
February 4, 2003.
 Many
people who are into natural compounds are reluctant to go on coumadin therapy,
and for good reasons. There are numerous natural supplements including vitamin
E, fish oil, and gingko that have blood thinning properties but unfortunately,
they require very high doses . For example, it has been shown that 5-10
grams of EPA and DHA found in fish oil have the equivalent blood thinning
activity as a 325mg aspirin. High doses of these supplements should not
be taken without the supervision of a health care professional. Likewise,
the use of vitamin E for blood thinning also requires a high dosage in the
neighborhood of 2000-3000IU.
Other natural compounds
that can help circulation , but not necessarily causes blood thinning, include
natto, a compound extracted from fermented soy beans. Natto contains an
enzyme called nattokinase which has the ability to dissolve thrombus and
prevent clot formation.
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