Perhaps soon - a safer blood thinner

From a U.S. News and World Report article not long ago:

New blood thinner could replace warfarin

The new study, published early online Dec. 6 by the New England Journal of Medicine, follows on the heels of two other promising reports presented at the American Heart Association meeting in Orlando, Fla., last month. Those studies found that dabigatran appeared safe and effective in preventing blood clots when patients were treated for acute coronary syndrome, a cluster of symptoms that might indicate a heart attack; it was also found superior to warfarin in preventing strokes in patients with the irregular heartbeat known as atrial fibrillation.

In the new trial, warfarin and dabigatran seemed to perform equally well in helping patients with potentially dangerous clots in their veins avoid a subsequent clot or death over the next six months.

But it is in its ease of use that the newer drug appears to outshine warfarin, the authors of this latest study say.

Hole elevates stroke risk of older patients, too

An article recently published by The New England Journal of Medicine shows that like the not-so-old set, people over 55 face a higher risk of stroke if a patent foramen ovale (or PFO, a hole between the two upper chambers of the heart) is present.

The article cites a study of 503 patients and reports that a "patent foramen ovale was more than twice as common in older patients with a crytogenic stroke" -- that is, a stroke with no obvious cause -- "as it was with a group of patients with stroke of known origin," according to a MedPage Today article.

"Consistent with previous studies," the article says, "cryptogenic stroke patients younger than 55 had a threefold greater prevalence of patent foramen ovale than did the patients with stroke of known cause."

Should those patients have those PFOs closed? Studies are ongoing. So if you fall into that category, stay in contact with a neurologist or cardiologist and keep tabs on new developments.