bruises and medication

[Fluffy98]

I have been taking various meds following a heart attack in December. I developed lots of bruising mainly on my hands, arms and legs. Anyone else had the same experience?

[MichaelJH Heart Star]

With heart medications the main one for causing bruising is Warfarin, in particular if the dosage is too high. So.me anti-arthritic drugs such as Naproxen, that can cause problems.

Talk with your GP as their are other drugs and medical conditions that can cause issues with bruising. Some non prescription drugs can cause a problem (often these are not well documented) and if you are taking any you must discuss this with your medical team.

[skid112 Heart Star]

You are probably on more than one, either aspirin or warfarin plus a platelet thinner, clopidogrel. These are the culprits, it does get better but you will notice bruising just appearing after a minor knock

take care

Mark

[MelB51]

Yes, I take clopidogrel and now I bruise badly even from a slight knock. I didn't have this problem when my anti-platelet drug was low dose aspirin but the cardiologist told me that Clopidogrel is much more effective at preventing clots etc. When I mentioned the bruising, he said 'Well at least you know it's working!' Which is a good point! I try hard not to bang my hands/arms but sometimes, it just happens and you know there'll be a bruise! I worried that it might mean that I was haemorrhaging internally but the cardiologist reassured me that there is no evidence of spontaneous bleeding of that sort.

[skid112 Heart Star]

Will ease once you get taken of the clopidogrel, usually after a year. I have had some cracking bruises, one the entire length of my thigh when I tweaked my hamstring, was very proud of that one. All the colours you could possibly expect to see yet after a day or so no pain there at all!