Claims drug will replace warfarin to prevent strokes

A NEW drug to help prevent strokes could replace the widely used warfarin treatment as it is far safer and more effective, it has been claimed.

Results from a major trial, published yesterday, reveal a new drug, Pradaxa, could prevent thousands of strokes and stroke-related deaths daily.

The trial, the largest of its kind, found that Pradaxa was 34% better at reducing the risk of stroke and blood clots in at-risk patients than warfarin. Death rates were down 15% when patients were given the drug. More than 18,000 patients from 44 countries took part in the three-year trial.

Irish cardiologist Dr Peter Crean said the results had exceeded expectations: “We now have an oral treatment which offers superior protection from stroke with less bleeding and without the need for regular blood monitoring [as with warfarin] which is a significant burden to patients, GPs and hospitals.”

Dr Adrian Brady, consultant cardiologist at Glasgow Royal Infirmary, said it’s “the greatest step forward in anticoagulation (anti-clotting) therapy for over 50 years. “The results presented today could mean the end of warfarin, known by many as rat poison, for many patients – no more anticoagulation clinics, no more blood tests, no more watching what you need to eat and drink.”

Worldwide, it is estimated that 3,000 strokes a day could be prevented if AF (atrial fibrillation) patients were given Pradaxa instead of warfarin. The drug is only licensed in Britain for orthopaedic patients at risk of clotting after surgery. An application to use it for stroke prevention is pending.

The findings were presented at the European Society of Cardiology’s annual meeting in Barcelona, and published online in the New England Journal of Medicine.