PATIENT INFORMATION
Blood thinners
“Blood thinner” can mean an anticoagulant such as warfarin, apixaban, rivaroxaban, dabigatran or edoxaban, or an antiplatelet medicine such as aspirin or clopidogrel. These medicines cannot be managed safely with one universal stop date.
The decision depends on why you take the medicine, your risk of a clot or stroke, kidney function, the bleeding risk of the procedure, and whether spinal/epidural or another regional anaesthetic technique is planned. Patients with a recent coronary stent need particular care because stopping antiplatelet treatment too early can be dangerous.
Do not stop an anticoagulant or antiplatelet drug solely because of this website. Interrupting treatment can itself cause serious harm. The plan depends on the drug, indication, renal function, procedure bleeding risk and, where relevant, neuraxial/regional anaesthesia considerations.