Taking Multiple Blood Thinners Linked to Increased Risks of Internal Bleeding

Heart patients who take more than one type of blood thinner to prevent the formation of potentially deadly blood clots may be up to four times more at risk of life-threatening stomach and intestinal bleeding, newly released research says.

Drugs such as aspirin, Coumadin (warfarin), and Plavix (clopidogrel) often are given together in various combinations to heart patients to prevent stroke and heart attack. However, researchers from Abraham of Baylor College of Medicine in Houston say taking such blood-thinning drug cocktails is linked to a high risk of ulcers, bleeding, and perforations of the stomach and intestines.

Researchers set out to determine the risks of taking two or three different blood-thinning drugs by examining pharmacy data and medical records from the Veterans Affairs Department. The patients studied were between the ages of 60 and 99 and had taken four different combinations of drugs to prevent blood clots.

Patients in the study were treated with aspirin along with Plavix or a similar drug, warfarin, also called Coumadin, and other combinations of the same anticoagulant and aniplatelet drugs.

Patients who got all three drugs were four-times more at risk of gastrointestinal bleeding within one year, researchers said. Taking aspirin and an antiplatelet drug doubled the risk, while a combination of aspirin and anticoagulant tripled the bleeding risk in one year, officials said.

The scientists behind the study are urging caution in heart patients taking more than one anti-clotting drug. The benefits and risks of the treatment, including the increased risks of severe gastrointestinal bleeding identified in the study, should be taken into consideration.

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