warfarin and liver disease

Hi, I was diagnosed with Pulmonary Embolism 3 years ago with hypercoagulability (genetic) and have been on 2.5mg of Warfarin per day for the past 3 years. I have just had an abdominal scan, and was told that I have a dense, fatty liver. I have tried to eat as healthy as possible, but had to cut a lot of greens out of my diet, as it affected my INR and would have lead to me having to increase my Warfarin dosage. Now I am not sure if this lead to the 'fatty liver'problem.

All the drugs you mentioned might cause problems only if you are in end stage liver disease and very extensive liver damage is present. Your labs show that this is not the case. Even with extensive liver damage all these drugs still can be used, but the dosages would have to be lowered. Anesthesia and contrast also can be safely used in patients with liver disease. The liver is very resilient and really can take a lot. Wish you the best and hope for a good outcome of your surgery.

0), age ≥ 65, highly variable INRs, history of gastrointestinal bleeding, hypertension, cerebrovascular disease, serious heart disease, anemia, malignancy, trauma, renal insufficiency, concomitant drugs (see PRECAUTIONS), and long duration of warfarin therapy. Regular monitoring of INR should be performed on all treated patients. Those at high risk of bleeding may benefit from more frequent INR monitoring, careful dose adjustment to desired INR, and a shorter duration of therapy.

The new research looks at how warfarin affects the progression of fibrosis in mice with chronic liver injury. Warfarin is already used to prevent and treat blood clots in people with artificial heart valves, deep vein thrombosis, and a host of other conditions. A previous study by the same researchers demonstrated that in Hepatitis C, scarring of the liver accelerates in those patients who are prone to form blood clots.

I've heard people in hospital tell the nurse that they refuse to take 'rat poison' and I think it's important to put this into perspective. Warfarin was first developed as a pesticide because it was noted how a small dose of anticoagulant would cause rats and mice to hemorrhage to death. So it was deliberately developed as an anticoagulant and it was found to have other uses, such as saving lives in humans suffering a thrombus.

Seven months ago I had a pulmonary embolism and I am told this may have been the second one.I am taking 7 mg of warfarin a day and my INR is 2.5.I had a liver transplant 10 months ago,and was told my vascular system was not great.Given my overall situation I am concerned about heart attacks and strokes.Do you think I should be taking 75mg of aspirin a day as well as the warfarin?Thanks.

A drastic change in diet can alter INR also, but in my own personal experience, it has usually been other meds that caused me to need to change my warfarin dosage and not my diet. An INR that is consistently out of range is dangerous. Don't worry about maintaining the same dose of warfarin. Worry about maintaining an INR that is consistently within range. Whatever dose of warfarin you have to take to stay in range is okay.

Enhanced hypoprothrombinemic response to warfarin has been reported in patients with acute alcohol intoxication and/or liver disease. The proposed mechanisms are inhibition of warfarin metabolism and decreased synthesis of clotting factors. Binge drinking may exacerbate liver impairment and its metabolic ability in patients with liver dysfunction. The risk of bleeding may be increased. Conversely, reductions in INR/PT have also been reported in chronic alcoholics with liver disease.

Thrombosis can be prevented with heparin administration and treated with heparin and warfarin. If clots occur heparin followed by warfarin ( coumadin )is usually prescribed. Higher-than-usual doses of warfarin may be needed. Warfarin or Coumadin is prescribed to prevent strokes arising from atrial fibrillation and DVTs forming in the legs usually.

Sometimes aspirin is used in place of the Plavix, and the patient will be on aspirin and warfarin. That type of combo regimen is used when the doctor doesn't think that one drug alone is enough to do the job, and one drug obviously wasn't enough in your case. It seems that your Plavix and warfarin regimen is working, so I'll join you in giving thanks for that.

Great site! I've bookmarked it for future reference. Thanks for the information.

I believe it could be a FATAL mistake if you stopped taking the warfarin. Mechanical valves will clot without warfarin and this could cause a heart attack, stroke or heart failure and could cause you to have to have another open heart surgery. PLEASE ,PLEASE talk to your doctor about any changes in the warfarin.

Im 47 & have permanent af -on 14mg warfarin and bisoprolol. Had 2 dc cardioversions which lasted hours and a few days before ectopics with sinus followed by full af set in thereafter. Have slight LV hypokinesis. now AADs suggested sotalol/flecanide. Im concerned about proarrhythmias and toxicity. High Warfarin dose and resistance to remain in sinus suggests to me that Id need quite a high sotolol dose too.

He was developing severe tiredness and hand pain. He was investigated by cardiologist and was administered for Warfarin Sodium treatment; since the heart turned weak and one of the chamber was accumulating blood clot. He was regularly (initially weekly and then bi weekly and now monthly) tested for PT/INR response to the drug. But, on routine check up it is diagnosed that his SGPT and SGOT Levels have touched alarming.

s never a good idea to switch from Coumadin to cod liver oil without the advice of a physician skilled and knowledgeable in nutritional and natural medicine. To find one near you, contact the American College for Advancement in Medicine You can also get lemon flavored fish oil with E. I use it and it's just a lemon flavor!

The vascular guy at rpa who operated to clear tthe clots out of the AV fistula said that the warfarin cannot and never shoudl be stopped and that any bleeding risk was less of a threat than the potential threats of more blood clots, saying bleeding will just to be dealt with! Hence a surgeon would treat me like the plague! He said that clexane was not protective enough if you had CKD with a variable level of function???

When on blood thinners, such as warfarin, you should have regular tests for your INR number (International Normalized Ratio). Basically your test sample is tested for clotting times against normal blood. So, a ratio of 1 to about 1.5 would be normal. If you are 2.0 then you are taking twice as long to clot as normal blood, meaning your blood is thinner. 3.0 means three times as long etc etc. The technical term for interest is the prothrombin time (PT). I believe the correct INR for A-Fib is 2.

Warfarin is best suited, in areas of slowly-running blood, such as in veins and the pooled blood behind artificial and natural valves, and pooled in dysfunctional cardiac atria. So common clinical indications for warfarin use are atrial fibrillation, the presence of artificial heart valves, deep venous thrombosis (clots), and pulmonary embolism (where the embolized clots first form in veins).

Given that yesterday he said to not take the warfarin he was changing me from the genertic warfarin and putting me on the brand name of the med coumadin. Said some folks do not tolerate warfarin well but do well on coumadin and i am to start the coumadin today. I would be lying if i didn't say i am a bit gunshy at this point. This med has made me absolutely miserable and today is my 43rd bday...

Portal vein thrombosis (PVT) is a vascular disease of the liver that occurs when a blood clot occurs in the hepatic portal vein, which can lead to increased pressure in the portal vein system and reduced blood supply to the liver.

The doctor will ask about medical history, family history of liver disease, diet, alcohol consumption, medications, and risk factors for hepatitis B and C, such as intravenous drug use. During a physical examination, the doctor determines whether the liver feels harder or larger than normal, if the Spleen is enlarged, looks for skin changes such as bruising and jaundice, and looks for evidence of fluid swelling in the legs, ankles, feet or abdomen.

Steve, Thanks a million for posting this link for others. Just had a friend undergo a liver & kidney transplant last week and I'm going to share this link & information with her Surgeon. Any more information you know about would be greatly appreciated. Do most patients that develop cirrhosis of the liver due to drinking, end up getting Hep C? If so, can you explain why?

go see a hematologist and find out, i too bruise easy but i have stage 4 liver ciirosis and enlarged spleen, 0%wbc, very low blood platlets and psoriasis of skin 98% of body.

I recently had blood work done and my liver enzymes were both 45. The doctor is not concerned. Should I be? Apparently the normal number is 35. I am 73 and take Warfarin for atrial fibrillation. I also had a hip fracture nine months ago. I also take a blood pressure medication, Diovan, and Metopropolol 25 mg. Would any of these drugs cause the elevation in liver enzymes?

s your case, then Warfarin is problematic. I get along rather well with Warfarin, I take 5 mg a day and have good success staying in the 2-3 INR range.

Warfarin and liver disease

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