Simple Home Test Can Halve The Risk Of Stroke And Cut The Risk Of Death For Thousands Of Patients On Warfarin Therapy

Date: Feb-12-2013MPs, clinicians and patients are uniting to drive change for patients on long-term warfarin

A simple self-monitoring test could reduce the risk of stroke by half in thousands of
people who currently take warfarin to prevent blood clots. Better access to
self-monitoring of international normalized ratio (INR) levels, which measures how long it
takes blood to form a clot, could also lower mortality rates by nearly two fifths,[1]
reduce the number of complications and has the potential to save the NHS around GBP62
million a year,*[2] a group of MPs, patients and charities stated last week.

Speaking in Parliament, Virendra Sharma, MP and member of the Health Select Committee,
said that many patients who take the anticoagulant warfarin were not benefitting from
self-monitoring through either a lack of awareness or issues around access. He stated that
"There are more than 1.2 million people in the UK on warfarin[3,4] but fewer than two per
cent of them benefit from self-monitoring."[5]

He went on to say: "If more patients are able to choose to self-monitor, it would
improve the quality of their care and create savings for the NHS. We need to see more
opportunities for people to discuss the option of self-monitoring with their GP. So today
we are encouraging patients and their families to write to their local MPs asking for
self-monitoring technology to be made available on NHS prescription and to register their
support for the ACSMA campaign."

Warfarin is used to reduce the risk of blood clots in conditions such as atrial
fibrillation, deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolism and in people with mechanical heart
valves.

Last week at the House of Commons, the AntiCoagulation Self-Monitoring Alliance
(ACSMA) launched a new campaign to increase patient access via prescription to
self-monitoring technology for those on longterm warfarin treatment. ACSMA comprises four
of the UK's leading charities and patient groups - AntiCoagulation Europe (ACE); the
Children's Heart Federation; the Atrial Fibrillation Association (AF Association); the
Mechanical Heart Valve Support Group. Healthcare company Roche is also part of the
alliance.

View drug information on Warfarin Sodium tablets.
Courtesy: Medical News Today Note: Any medical information available in this news section is not intended as a substitute for informed medical advice and you should not take any action before consulting with a health care professional.