I Was On Coumadin (Blood-Thinner) Before My Heart Attack. Is Using Aspirin Advisable?

Dr. Deepak Bhatt answers the question: 'Can I Use Aspirin While On Coumadin?'

By
Deepak Bhatt, M.D., Associate Director, Cardiovascular Coordinating Center; Staff, Cardiac, Peripheral, and Carotid Intervention, Cleveland Clinic
December 23, 2008, 5:34 PM ET
1 min read

— -- Question: I was on Coumadin (blood-thinner) before my heart attack. My doctor advises me to add aspirin to my medication list. Is this advisable?

Answer: It's really tricky to give you specific advice about different blood thinners. There's no question combining different types of blood thinning medications raises the risk of bleeding, including serious bleeding.

So there's definitely a down side, but on the other hand, if you've had a heart attack while you were taking your coumadin and the level was right -- and a lot of times people's levels are either too high or too low -- but assuming your level of coumadin was thinning the blood just right, and you still had a heart attack, many experts would suggest adding an aspirin, especially if your overall risk of bleeding is low.

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