Virtually everyone taking a common blood thinner is on the wrong dose. Doctors are prescribing the standard dose recommended by the drug company-but it’s a practice that is putting the patient’s life at risk.
At least 75 per cent of people taking Plavix (clopidogrel) or Effient (prasugrel) are in danger of developing life-threatening blood clots or uncontrolled bleeding because the recommended dose is wrong for them.
Researchers from the Intermountain Medical Centre Heart Institute say that the ideal dose is far more individual, and there is a ‘sweet spot’ dosage for every patient. After analysing the blood of 521 patients with coronary artery disease, they discovered that half the clopidogrel group was getting too little of the drug to prevent clotting and a quarter was getting too much, which increases the risk of uncontrolled bleeding. Only a quarter was getting an effective dose, so their ideal amount coincided with the recommended dosage. A similar pattern was seen among the prasugrel group.
Doctors can easily discover the ‘sweet spot’ by taking a blood test, which would reveal if the current dosage was clotting the blood or not.
(Source: American Heart Association Scientific Sessions, 2012, Los Angeles).
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