Pradaxa may lead to uncontrollable bleeding

       Earlier this year, a study conducted by researchers Ken Uchino from Cleveland Clinic and MD Adrian V. Hernandez, involving seven clinics and 30,514 patients revealed that patients who are taking the anticoagulant drug Pradaxa may present a 33% higher risk of heart attack or heart disease than patients who were taking other drugs such as warfarin.

Researchers Ken Uchino and Adrian Hernandez concluded that : "The risk of [heart attack] or acute coronary syndrome is increased with [Pradaxa] compared with various control treatments, which include adjusted-dose warfarin, [Lovenox], or placebo.

Even though Pradaxa was found to have some great benefits in preventing strokes,does that outweigh its risks?



It may be hard to tell,but what is certain is that this is not the first warning signal about Pradaxa.

Only one year after it was launched, FDA issued a safety alert regarding the risks of internal bleeding in patients using Pradaxa. This may have come as a result of over 117 deaths over the spawn of only one year and numerous other reports of injuries after using Pradaxa.


The problem with this drug is that unlike other anticoagulants, it does not have an antidote. That means that every time someone is experiencing some severe problems after using Pradaxa and finds himself in need of emergency treatment , the only option is to undergo dialysis, that is to mechanically remove the substance from the patient's blood stream which may take several hours. Hours that a patient may not have .


Just a couple a months ago, an 83 year old man died after suffering a hit on the head from a minor fall. It was not the impact that killed him , in fact what proved to be fatal for him was the uncontrollable internal bleeding.


Usually when they get patients with severe bleeding, doctors will try to stop that by using an intravenous fluids or a protein called recombinant factor VIIa. Unfortunately these procedures are useless for patients who have been using Pradaxa . Not even a dose of Vitamin K which worked perfectly with warfarin can be of help. By the time doctors can remove Pradaxa from the system through dialysis , the patient may have already lost too much blood .


It is a grim view for the elderly folk knowing that a simple fall or injury may prove fatal for them .