If on blood thinner, do you still chew a baby aspirin during stroke sx

Posted by camscribe @camscribe, Jan 3 8:43pm

Afib for years. I’m on dronedarone and apixiban (blood thinner).

My husband said to me that if he thought I was having a stroke he would shove baby aspirin into me. I immediately said NO! Mainly because I’m on a blood thinner. A nurse practitioner said never take aspirin with blood thinner.

But what is the correct answer?

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I chewed 6 when I had my heart attack!

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@rebaheizer

I chewed 6 when I had my heart attack!

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While you were on blood thinners?

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No I didn’t know I had blockages then. I take 1 baby aspirin per day but wouldn’t hesitate to chew a few if it happens again.

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@camscribe
That's a decision you shouldn't make without your physician’s input.
Here's a link regarding the subject from the Mayo Clinic,
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/heart-disease/in-depth/daily-aspirin-therapy/art-20046797
Take care,
Jake

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Thanks for the link. It shows what my nurse practitioner said about mixing Apixiban with aspirin. I just wondered if that was the same in a emergency situation ie: having a stroke

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I read the other comments before I wrote this. I have been on Elliquis for a couple of years now.
Was told from the beginning no aspirin .. also several other OTC drugs such as Aleve ... and a long list of Rxs. Also advised to check with Cardio MDs prior to any major surgical or dental procedures. Per one medical procedure, I was advised to stop the Eliquis for 2 days before the procedure and two after. Had some major dental work but my cardio MD said that was not an issue.

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I hope you won't mind this correction, but the terminology matters. Apixaban is an 'anti-coagulant', not a blood thinner. Such medications only delay the inevitable...a clot. They retard the clumping of the proteins that comprise the clot. And this is all you want. You don't want to prevent clotting, you just want to delay its onset if you are in arrhythmia and your heart isn't able to move blood around well. Still blood WILL clot, with or without an anti-coagulant. The hope, the idea, is to slow its tendency to clot just enough that one or two NSR beats will clear the 'old' blood out of the various pools it is in and circulate it in 'fresh' blood that hasn't been still for several seconds.
Coumadin has been called a 'blood thinner', and everyone seems to be happy with that. It acts differently, just as heparin and acetyl-salicylic acid do.
I would advise you to consult an expert physician before taking potentially complementary drugs, or ones that may interfere with, or interact with, others. Even so, when I had my first ablation, I was told to cease apixaban, and to take five baby aspirins in the 12 hours before my angiogram. When I was about to be wheeled in, they also gave me heparin. This was 26 hours after my last apixaban (Eliquis), so about 30% of that final dose was still available and circulating freely in me. Quite the cocktail!

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Thanks for the info! Extremely interesting. I await my protocol in regards to medication before my ablation (possibly two ablations ).

I’ll chat with my electrophysiologist about the aspirin as I’ve only heard one opinion by a nurse practitioner in regards to taking an aspirin while having stroke symptoms while on Apixiban.

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@joaf37

I read the other comments before I wrote this. I have been on Elliquis for a couple of years now.
Was told from the beginning no aspirin .. also several other OTC drugs such as Aleve ... and a long list of Rxs. Also advised to check with Cardio MDs prior to any major surgical or dental procedures. Per one medical procedure, I was advised to stop the Eliquis for 2 days before the procedure and two after. Had some major dental work but my cardio MD said that was not an issue.

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Hi. joaf37. My dentist recently extracted one tooth and my cardiologist said to hold off Eliquis for 2-3 days. I'm on a very low dose. When I had dental surgery (three extractions) last Spring, it was the same recommendation.

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@fdixon63

Hi. joaf37. My dentist recently extracted one tooth and my cardiologist said to hold off Eliquis for 2-3 days. I'm on a very low dose. When I had dental surgery (three extractions) last Spring, it was the same recommendation.

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Appreciated your comments and was surprised that my cardiologist didn't see a reason to hold off the Rx. I did have major dental surgery twice within in 6 months recently . Not an issue the first time but the second time a few weeks ago , I had some issues in my mind. Also, I had major foot surgery about a year ago ...(I may have noted that in my prior comments) -- my cardiologist said the opposite.

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