Anticoagulant s and strokes

[trixie100]

I take Apixaban .Do anticoagulant s protect you from strokes completely?

[Hidden]

Please bear in mind trixie, I’m not medically trained but to the best of my knowledge, nobody has ever said that anticoagulants will completely protect anyone from having a stroke. What the medics say is that for anyone with AF, anticoagulants significantly reduce the risk of having a stroke…….

[BobD Volunteer]

Nothing is 100%. It is generally considered that AF increases stroke risk against the normal population by five times. Anticoagulation is thought to reduce this risk by 70% . Obviously the more co morbidities one has then the greater the initial risk whch is why we have the CHADS2Vasc2 algorithm.

The $64,000 question of course is what is your initial risk and that is not easy to know. So 5 times what?

[secondtry]

The short answer, from what I have read, is No. Around 70% protection. There is the theory widely quoted that without ACs you are x5 more likely to have a stroke but I believe this figure comes from just one study and therefore not really conclusive either way. So even though you are taking ACs best not to be complacent and improve relevant lifestyle habits.

[PhyllisK]

Hi Trixie, nothing is 100% but, according to the medical professionals anticoagulants can reduce the possibility of a stroke. Good luck.