Dabigatran

Dabigatran (Pradaxa) is an oral blood-thinner, used to reduce the risk of stroke and blood clots in people with atrial fibrillation and and is comparable with warfarin (Coumadin).

Like coumadin, dabitagran has a risk for bleeding if too much is taken as well, but patients don't have to have their blood checked regularly, or adjust their dosage. Thus, it appears to have an enormous advantage in patient convenience and ease of use. However, a small number of patients may develop serious bleeding problems with Dabigatran that are much more difficult to control than coumadin: 81 cases out of 64 000 people developed serious side effects, including gastrointestinal bleeding, since the launch of dabigatran  since its launch in Japan in January 2011 and physicians have been adviced to carefully monitor their patients for signs of anemia and bleeding.

The risk of bleeding with  dabigatran (like warfarin) may be higher for patients who:

• are 75 years old or older
• have kidney problems
• have a history of stomach or intestinal bleeding
• take other medicines that increase your risk of bleeding, like aspirin products, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and blood thinners

Bleeding caused by coumadin, unlike dabigatran is probably easier to control.

Read more here:

A Patient's Guide to Taking Dabigatran Etexilate

• Aspirin
• Coumadin
• Dabigatran
  • Be careful to use Dabigatran
  • Concerns about the use of Pradaxa for stroke prevention
• Rivaroxaban
• Glycoprotein IIb/IIIa Inhibitors