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My Fiance (age 45) Had A Stroke A Little Over
Question: My fiance (age 45) had a stroke a little over a month ago. They decided he had thick blood and put him on Warfarin. They are still trying to find the right dosage for him. The past week or maybe longer he has been coughing up blood...a lot of blood. He's waking up to bloody drool every morning. He sleeps a lot lately. It's really hard to wake him up. He also drinks a lot and I'm not sure that he tells his doctors the extent of it. But he's a "tough guy" so he basically has to be near death to get him to even talk to a doctor about any problems he's having. How concerned should I be? Is the coughing up blood just a side effect of the blood thinners or because the medication isn't adjusted right yet? Or is it considered an emergency situation? Or is it safe to simply wait until Monday?
Brief Answer:
Coughing up blood is related to warfarin.
Detailed Answer:
Thank you for posting your query.
I am Dr Sudhir Kumar, Neurologist, and I would try my best to help you.
I have noted your fiance's clinical details. Based on this, the most likely cause of his hemoptysis (coughing out blood) is an adverse effect of warfarin. Warfarin dose needs to be adjusted on the basis of PT/INR blood test. If INR is high, there is a higher risk of bleeding such as coughing out blood. Heavy drinking can further increase the risk of bleeding, as alcohol can affect the liver.
As of now, please stop warfarin until the bleeding stops and you are able to see a doctor. If bleeding continues or increases, you may need to go to emergency.
I hope my answer helps. Please get back if you have any follow up queries or if you require any additional information.
Wishing you good health,
Dr Sudhir Kumar MD (Internal Medicine), DM (Neurology) XXXXXXX Consultant Neurologist
Apollo Hospitals, XXXXXXX XXXXXXX
Click on this link to ask me a DIRECT QUERY: http://bit.ly/Dr-Sudhir-kumar
My BLOG: http://bestneurodoctor.blogspot.in
Coughing up blood is related to warfarin.
Detailed Answer:
Thank you for posting your query.
I am Dr Sudhir Kumar, Neurologist, and I would try my best to help you.
I have noted your fiance's clinical details. Based on this, the most likely cause of his hemoptysis (coughing out blood) is an adverse effect of warfarin. Warfarin dose needs to be adjusted on the basis of PT/INR blood test. If INR is high, there is a higher risk of bleeding such as coughing out blood. Heavy drinking can further increase the risk of bleeding, as alcohol can affect the liver.
As of now, please stop warfarin until the bleeding stops and you are able to see a doctor. If bleeding continues or increases, you may need to go to emergency.
I hope my answer helps. Please get back if you have any follow up queries or if you require any additional information.
Wishing you good health,
Dr Sudhir Kumar MD (Internal Medicine), DM (Neurology) XXXXXXX Consultant Neurologist
Apollo Hospitals, XXXXXXX XXXXXXX
Click on this link to ask me a DIRECT QUERY: http://bit.ly/Dr-Sudhir-kumar
My BLOG: http://bestneurodoctor.blogspot.in
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
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