After taking Apixaban for 6 days (2x5mg, daily) I woke this morning with a subconjunctival haemorrhage in the left eye. Yesterday, the eye had been bloodshot and itchy; I had hoped that it was just conjunctivitis and would clear up. As I had a similar subconjunctival haemorrhage three years ago, two days after taking Dabigatran, I'm fairly confident that this latest one was caused by the Apixaban. I rang 111 this morning and am due to be contacted by phon, but I wondered what I should do in the meanwhile. I'm due to take another dose of Apixaban now and have heard that it is not advised to stop taking it suddenly. At the same time, it doesn't seem wise to continue taking the medication. I appreciate that others cannot offer medical advice, but I wondered if anyone had encountered a similar problem and how it was addressed. One concern is that if this is a recurrent problem, as it appears to be-it's possibly caused by a weak blood vessel-I will be unable to take an anticoagulant.
Apixaban and subconjunctival haemorrh... - Atrial Fibrillati...
Apixaban and subconjunctival haemorrhage.
I take Apixaban and have had eye haemorrhages a few times. I usually just waited them out and was told by the optician that all was OK and the amount of bleeding was minute but it spreads and looks like a lot. Like you, my eye was itchy beforehand, so I thought I might have rubbed without thinking.
It doesn't do any harm to have it checked out. I can't advise on your drug but I don't feel happy missing a dose for any reason - just a personal opinion. Best wishes.
Thanks for replying. Were you advised to pause the Apixaban until the subconjunctival haemorrhage cleared up (which for me takes at least two weeks)? Wouldn't continuing to use it mean the eye would continue to bleed?
No, I was told it was a tiny blood vessel which had leaked a drop which spread and looked worse than it was. There was no indication of further bleeding and it cleared up within 10 days. I continued with my Apixaban throughout. I checked it out with my optician on the first occasion and followed it up later with my cardiologist.
My understanding is that (in my case), there was not bleeding as we understand it with a flow and coagulation but merely a drop under the conjunctive membrane.
Thanks, once again, for replying. A 111 advisor said I should speak to my GP on Monday but pause the Apixaban until then. It's reassuring to know that it might be possible to resume it.
I agree with Finvola, I’ve been taking Apixaban for around 7 years and it’s happened to me twice. Fortunately, the first time it coincided with an AF Support Group meeting and my Cardiologist happened to be the speaker and he said they are common and even a very severe sneeze can cause a small blood vessel to rupture. If there is any “real” discomfort then it’s better to have it checked but it’s very rare for it to be a problem. Still a bit scary when it happens though……
Interesting. I'm a bit concerned as it's happened to me within two days of taking Dabigatran (three years ago) and a week after taking Apixaban three years later. It suggests there is some sort of long term problem. I'm not sure what the GP will recommend. There aren't that many options; so far as I know, Apixaban is the DOAC least likely to cause this sort of problem. Did the cardiologist just recommend ignoring them and continuing with the DOAC?
All I can say is I never stopped taking Apixaban and it took about a week to clear. Cannot really add any more. The cardiologist was not an EP and in my view, he always takes a cautious approach but you should do what you think is best for you, I am not medically trained……
I stopped my Eliquis all at once without any adverse effect. Now I take Nattokinase.
I have been taking Apixiban over 7 years and on occasion have had an eye bleed, some by sneezing, coughing etc. But on occasion no reason at all. I also had eye bleeds long before I started taking Apixiban. On advice from my EP I didn't stop the Apixiban and the eye issue cleared itself, on a personal basis I was pleased he advised not to stop the Apixiban I didn't fancy risking a stroke because of a small self righting bleed in my eye. Good luck and Merry Christmas. Roy
I also had a horrendous-looking subconjunctival haemorrhage within a short time of starting Apixaban but I had had smaller ones occasionally in the past. I checked with my GP and my optician that it was nothing to worry about and didn’t even consider stopping the Apixaban. The eye cleared within about 7-10 days. I personally think that stopping Apixaban puts a person at risk of something very serious, whereas a subconjunctival haemorrhage is not at all serious. You might get them from time to time but they clear up and no harm done.
The only risk of stopping Apixaban suddenly is the risk of a stroke because you are no longer protected. People over 80 with low body weight are only supposed to take 2.5 mg, also depends on kidney function, so two out of three advises lower dose. Stopping for a few days is up to you really.
I am wondering if a lower dose, 2X 2g would be less likely to produce the bleed.
Nothing to do with the Apixaban, you should ignore the 111 'advisor' in my opinion and wait for a proper opinion, a bleed into the white of the eye is never serious. A bleed in the corona is a case for Moorfields immediately.
All the best.
Roy
And you are qualified to say it has nothing to do with with Apixaban and then to advise someone to ignore NHS advice !!
Same thing happened to me with Warfarin. At a different time when I was not anti coagulated I had a small haemorrhage on an optic nerve. This has happened twice . I do not take an anticoagulant as I have balanced the risk in my mind and decided not to. It really is a balance. Good luck with it all.
Thanks to you and everyone else for replying. I’ve just been on the phone to my GP who has asked me if I would “like to go on warfarin”instead of Apixaban. She says that this is less likely to produce an eye bleed that the latter- a claim I am rather dubious about.
My daughter is a senior NHS Nurse.
Hi. This happened to me within the first couple of weeks of taking Rivaroxaban. I was worried as I also have Glaucoma. However, that was 14 months ago and I haven't had a reoccurrence. Of course mention it to your cardiologist, but hopefully, like me it will be a one off.
Leaving one dose of apixaban won’t hurt just wait until you hear from your dr as some people are asked to leave taking it for a day if there having any sort of minor surgery
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