What is Coumadin?
Coumadin is a blood thinning medication. The generic name for coumadin is warfarin. It is used primarily for the treatment of deep venous thrombosis (DVT) or pulmonary emboli (PE). It can also be used for other purposes, such as in atrial fibrillation where the uncoordinated movements of one of the heart chambers can lead to the development of blood clots that can lead to a stroke. It has the unfortunate history of being used as a poison for rats years ago. Therefore, it has a stigma attached to it that we still hear about today. (You want me to take rat poison?) HOW DOES COUMADIN THIN OUT THE BLOOD? Coumadin acts on certain blood proteins that promote clotting. the blood clotting system is a constant mix of pro and anti clotting mechanisms. Using coumadin tends to tip the mix into the favor of the anti clotting forces. The actual mechanism involves the blocking of vitamin K dependent protein synthesis of Factors II, VII, IX, and X, as well as protein C and protein S. These proteins ar
