Anticoagulant and Antiplatele... Health Article

Interactions

Anticoagulants may interact with many other medications. When this happens, the effects of one or both of the drugs may change or the risk of side effects may be increased. Anyone who takes anticoagulants should inform the prescribing physician about other prescription or nonprescription (over-the-counter medicines) he or she is taking—even aspirin, laxatives, vitamins, and antacids.

Diet also affects the way anticoagulant drugs work in the body. A normal, balanced diet should be followed every day while taking such medication. No dietary changes should be made without informing first the prescribing physician, who should also be told of any illness or other condition interfering with the ability to eat normally. Diet is a very important consideration because the amount of vitamin K in the body affects how anticoagulant drugs work. Dicoumarol and warfarin act by reducing the effects of vitamin K. Vitamin K is found in meats, dairy products, leafy, green vegetables, and some multiple vitamins and nutritional supplements. For the drugs to work properly, it is best to have the same amount of vitamin K in the body all the time. Foods containing vitamin K in the diet should not be increased or decreased without consulting with the prescribing physician. If the patient takes vitamin supplements, he should check the label to see if it contains vitamin K. Because vitamin K is also produced by intestinal bacteria, a severe case of diarrhea or the use of laxatives may also alter a person's vitamin K levels.

Nancy Ross-Flanigan

KEY TERMS

Anticoagulant—Drug used to prevent clot formation or to prevent a clot that has formed from enlarging. Anticoagulant drugs inhibit clot formation by blocking the action of clotting factors or platelets. Anticoagulant drugs fall into three groups: inhibitors of clotting factor synthesis, inhibitors of thrombin and antiplatelet drugs.

Antiplatelet drug—Drug that inhibits platelets from aggregating to form a plug. They are used to prevent clotting and alter the natural course of atherosclerosis.

Atherosclerosis—Condition characterized by deposits of fatty plaque in the arteries.

Clot—A soft, semi-solid mass that forms when blood gels.

Platelet—A small, disk-shaped body in the blood that has an important role in blood clotting: they form the initial plug at the rupture site of a blood vessel.

Thrombin—Thrombin is a protein produced by the body. It is a specific clotting factor that plays an important role in the blood clotting process.

Thrombin inhibitor—Thrombin inhibitors are one type of anticoagulant medication, used to help prevent formation of harmful blood clots in the body by blocking the activity of thrombin.