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.
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.
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.
Great site! I've bookmarked it for future reference. Thanks for the information.
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...
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.
you need to determine whether it is his heart or his liver causing the rise in enzymes. Both heart and liver sickness can raise Alt/Ast. so he will need a full work up.
try this site for a primer, then go with him to the doc if you can, Older folks often don't ask questions or communicate well enough to get the test they need. Having you s an advocate will help immensely in his care going forward.
http://www.chfpatients.com/tests/routine_tests.
My question is how damaging are these blood thinners, anesthesia, painkillers and contrasts to the liver? Is there anything I can do to help my liver through this? Currently my blood tests are normal for liver function, my viral load is consistently below 200,000 and as far as a CAT scan can tell, my liver looks normal. (I presume a biopsy may not be possible for a while due to the anticoagulants.....?)
Any suggestions would be great..feeling a little nervous about it all.
Binge drinking will increase your INR (ie effect of warfarin) and chronic drinking will decrease INR because your liver enzymes are chronically bumped which increases metabolism of warfarin (so your body eliminates it faster and get get less effect). Don't look a scape goat. You were put on a blood thinner to REDUCE your risk of a clot because YOU HAVE an INCREASED risk that outweighs the risk of being on a blood thinner.
Take ownership of your health and take care of yourself.
While you are on Warfarin - and this would be life-long for you - you are at risk from both under-dosing, which would lead to embolism, and over-dosing, when you could have bleeding from some part of your body, including the brain. Warfarin reduces the serum levels of Vitamin K-dependent clotting factors synthesized in the liver - this is its primary and desired effect. Alcohol also has effects on the liver, and smoking increases the chances of thrombosis and embolism.
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.
I am 53 and just had my 2nd open heart surgery 2 months ago. 3 years ago a bovine aortic valve was put in and there was major scarring that occured. So in December they replaced it with a mechanical valve. I'm now on Warfarin 7.5 and have been maintaining an INR of 2.5-2.8. Last week I had a severe stomach virus and became very dehydrated. I went in for my draw yesterday and recieved a call last night from my cardiologist.
Unknown. Warfarin metabolism normally occurs through the cytochrome P450 (CYP450) isoenzyme system, with excretion occurring in the urine as inactive metabolites. It is postulated that large doses of acetaminophen may "exhaust" the capability of the CYP450 system to metabolize warfarin. Additionally, DARVOCET-N 100 TABLETS may reduce functional factor VII.
Management: Monitor coagulation status and adjust the dosage of COUMADIN 4MG TABLETS (BLUE) accordingly.
He already takes many vitamins, daily asprin and recently added cod liver oil (helps keep arteries nice and slippery) and TOLD the Dr. to give him the electrolite blood work order to check his magnesium, potassium etc. Heard magnesium can help heart arrythmias. Will have the results in a day or 2. He also tries to get in olive oil each day. He experiences no symptoms from this and was only picked up from the EKG.
I have a friend who lay on the floor and felt a bump. It turned out it was her liver and she had fatty liver. Not saying you had that, just thinking it might be a good way to see if yours is swollen completely unscientific. I am just a fellow patient like you.
To help your liver you could try just drinking water, that would help quite a bit.
Has your doctor done any blood work? to check your liver function?
Just trying to kind of think out loud here.
Thank you for your answer. We have heard alot about magnesium and he has been on asprin daily for years. He is 70 years old with blood work and blood pressure of a much younger man. When you take coumadin to help prevent a stroke then learn that taking it could also cause a stroke-that's kind of scary. My husband also started taking cod liver oil daily which we read keeps those arteries nice and slippery making it hard for clots to form. He also takes bunches of different vitamins.
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