Safer alternative to warfarin 'could prevent thousands of strokes a year'

THOUSANDS of strokes could be prevented in the UK each year by switching at-risk patients to a new type of blood-thinning drug, the results of a major trial suggest.

Researchers compared the effects of standard warfarin and the new medication, dabigatran etexilate, in 18,000 patients from 44 countries.

The study found that the new drug reduced the risk of stroke in high-risk patients by 30 per cent more than warfarin.

A major problem with warfarin – traditionally used as rat poison – is that doses have to be measured and monitored constantly to prevent harmful bleeding.

Dabigatran is said to be far easier to manage. Sold under the brand name Pradaxa, the drug is expected to become generally available in the UK in August. It will be substantially more expensive than warfarin.

The new research was presented at the American College of Cardiology's Annual Scientific Session in Atlanta, Georgia.

Dr Adrian Brady, consultant cardiologist at Glasgow Royal Infirmary, called the results "exciting and highly significant".

He said: "I think we're talking about preventing thousands of strokes a year if this drug becomes widely available," he said.