Anticoagulant medicines (blood thinners) play a vital role in drug treatment for atrial fibrillation. Actually the goal of anticoagulant medicines is not to get rid of AFib but prevent having a stroke. Blood thinners not only hinder the formation of blood clots, but also keep existing blood clots from getting bigger.
The most common anticoagulant is Warfarin (Coumadin). And other blood thinners include Apixaban (Eliquis), Dabigatran (Pradaxa), Edoxaban (Savaysa), and Rivaroxaban (Xarelto). Other than anticoagulant medicines, antiplatelet medicines are also important. Aspirin, such as Bayer, is most often used to prevent TIAs and strokes. Aspirin combined with dipyridamole (Aggrenox) is a safe and effective alternative to aspirin. And for those who cannot use aspirin, clopidogrel (placix) is a good choice.
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