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news.The newly approved drug dabigatran is an alternative to warfarin to help prevent dangerous blood clots in patients with atrial fibrillation, according to updated guidelines from the American College of Cardiology (ACC), American Heart Association (AHA) and the Heart Rhythm Society (HRS).
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Warfarin, an anti-clotting drug used since the 1950s, requires patients to have regular testing to monitor its effectiveness and dosage adjustment.
According to this most recent update, dabigatran is useful as an alternative to warfarin to prevent stroke and blood clots in patients with either paroxysmal (recurrent episodes that stop after seven days) or permanent (an on-going episode) atrial fibrillation, and with risk factors for stroke or blood clotting who do not have a prosthetic heart valve, significant heart valve disease, severe renal failure or advanced liver disease.
In December 2010, the atrial fibrillation guidelines were updated and recommended that a combination of aspirin and the oral antiplatelet drug clopidogrel might be considered to prevent stroke or other types of blood clots in patients with atrial fibrillation who are poor candidates for the clot-preventing drug warfarin.