Adverse Effects of the Drug, Coumadin

My dad has been on the drug Coumadin for about 4 years to thin his blood so he is less likely to have a heart attack or stroke.  My sister was curious and felt that we needed to learn more about the drug.  It was alarming to learn that according to My Blood web site, “Blood thinners are second only to chemotherapy drugs in having the highest risk of serious treatment-related complications.”  We also learned that it is very likely that the five breaks in my dad’s femur bone (one of the strongest in the body) is due to lengthy consumption of Coumadin that not only thins the blood, but thins the bones as well.  See below:

“The study reviewed Medicare records for about 15,000 patients with an average age of 80, to identify fractures related to osteoporosis and found that patients who used Coumadin for a year or more had a 25% increase in fractures compared to patients not using the drug. The study included an almost equal number of men and women and the results showed that men had a 63% higher incidence of fracture.”

Osteoporosis runs in my dad’s family, and the doctor never even asked him if there was any inclination toward osteoporosis.  We are currently doing research to find alternate blood thinning options for my dad. 

I feel strongly that this information needs to be circulated as much as possible.  Hopefully we can help prevent the same thing happening to others.