Managing Medications: Taking an Anticoagulant

Managing medications is one of the most common responsibilities of unpaid caregivers who are helping family members or friends. This task can be particularly challenging when the medication is considered high-risk. This episode of the Home Alone Alliance TM series on managing medications presents information about one frequently prescribed high-risk drug—warfarin. Warfarin is the generic name of the drug. Warfarin is often described, even by health care professionals, as a “blood thinner.” This is a common but inaccurate term. Warfarin does not thin blood; as an anticoagulant, it prevents blood from coagulating, that is, clotting. It is prescribed for people who have heart conditions like an irregular heartbeat called atrial fibrillation (A-Fib) or heart valve problems. It is also prescribed for people who have had blood clots in their legs or lungs to prevent a recurrence, and to people who are at risk of stroke.