← Return to Stroke medication: Taking Eliquis to reduce risk of stroke

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@johnbishop

Welcome @harp23, I had not heard of Nattokinase but I just started on Eliquis (5mg) twice a day after a trip to the ER and an overnight in the hospital for a blood clot in my leg and then one in my lungs. I don't have AFIB but do have hypertension so also take high blood pressure meds. I have to go back in January for an ultrasound to look at the clots and determine if I need to be on Eliquis a few months longer or if it is a lifetime thing. After doing a quick search and finding the following article, I think I might discuss Nattokinase with my vascular medicine care team to see if it might be an option.

"Nattokinase dissolves blood clots by directly hydrolyzing fibrin and plasmin substrate. It converts endogenous prourokinase to urokinase (uPA). It also degrades plasminogen activator inhibitor (PAI-1) and increases the level of tissue plasminogen activator (t-PA)."
--- Nattokinase: An Oral Antithrombotic Agent for the Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5372539/.
I would not take Nattokinase without discussing it with my care team especially if you take any other blood thinners or medications. Here are a few more research articles:

"Nattokinase has not been approved by the FDA, and contrary to claims on the internet, it should not take the place of an anticoagulant."
--- Can I replace prescribed anticoagulants with Nattokinase?: https://www.stoptheclot.org/faq/can-i-replace-prescribed-anticoagulants-with-nattokinase/

--- Nattokinase: A Promising Alternative in Prevention and Treatment of Cardiovascular Diseases: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6043915/.

Have you discussed it with your doctor?

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Replies to "Welcome @harp23, I had not heard of Nattokinase but I just started on Eliquis (5mg) twice..."

My cardiologist is somewhat familiar with Nattokinase. He says the biggest drawback is the lack of studies and because of that he can’t actually recommend taking it but since it’s not a pharmaceutical studies may be hard to come by and will not be funded . From what I have read it has no side effects and does not need an antidote. I was told that my risk of stroke is 3 1/2 - 4% if I do nothing. If I take Eliquis it will be reduced to around 1 1/2%. I am somewhat perplexed by one post in which someone mentioned having had irregular heart rhythm since birth yet apparently had not had any blood clots or strokes even though they had not been on blood thinners all their life. And one other question I have is since there are no blood tests done if you are on Eliquis how do you know it is doing it’s job of preventing blood clots? Is there a test in which it is determined that your blood is not at risk of undue clotting?