Blood thinning drugs are linked to increase in brain hemorrhages

Reported by Susan Aldridge, PhD, medical journalist

There has been a large increase in the number of brain hemorrhages associated with blood-thinning drugs like warfarin.
Blood thinning drugs, such as warfarin, are often used to prevent blood clotting and so avoid ischemic stroke. But they carry the risk of causing the other - less common kind of stroke - caused by brain hemorrhage. Warfarin use has increased because recent research has shown that it can reduce the risk of ischemic stroke in those with atrial fibrillation, an abnormal heart rhythm condition.

In a new study, researchers at the University of Cincinnati report on trends in brain hemorrhage during the last several years. They identified all patients in the greater Cincinnati area who had been hospitalized with first-time brain hemorrhage during 1988, 1993-1994 and in 1999. In 1988, the rate of brain hemorrhage linked to blood-thinners was 0.8 per 100,000 people. Eleven years later, the rate was up to 4.4 cases per 100,000 people. For those aged 80 or more, the rate of brain hemorrhage went up from 2.5 to 45.9 between 1988 and 1999. The findings should stimulate research into alternatives to warfarin that carry less risk of brain hemorrhage. But the researchers say that, for many, the benefits of warfarin continue to outweigh the risks of hemorrhagic stroke.

Source
Neurology 9th January 2007

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