A recent blood thinner study has suggested that patients taking the popular anticoagulant drug, Pradaxa, should not be concurrently taking certain popular cholesterol lowering drugs.

The blood thinner study specifically looked at the use of Pradaxa, generically known as dabigatran, a medication prescribed to patients who have an irregular heartbeat condition (arrhythmia) known his atrial fibrillation.

When taken orally, Pradaxa helps to prevent blood clots as well as strokes, which are common complications in patients suffering from atrial fibrillation, or a-fib.

The health risks associated with Pradaxa users are found in patients taking statin drugs, specifically simvastatin or lovastatin, according to the blood thinner study.

These patients experienced a higher risk of suffering a major bleeding event when compared to patients taking other statin drugs to lower their cholesterol.

“The study was conducted because simvastatin and lovastatin would be expected to increase the amount of (dabigatran) that is absorbed and thereby increase the risk of bleeding with this drug, a property not shared by the other statins,” the lead author of the blood thinner study, Tony Antoniou of St. Michael’s Hospital and University of Toronto, explained.

The research actually consisted of two different studies of patients in Ontario, Canada age 66 and older, who began taking Pradaxa at sometime between 2012 and 2014.

In the first blood thinner study, patients who had experienced ischemic stroke were examined; in the second blood thinner study, patients who experienced major hemorrhage were examined.

In addition to taking Pradaxa, the blood thinner study participants were using statin drugs for the two months prior to their participation.

Among those studied, 397 cases of ischemic stroke and another 1117 cases of major hemorrhage were studied among the 46,000 people taking Pradaxa.

The blood thinner study concluded that used alone, simvastatin or lovastatin is not linked to an increased risk of stroke, however statin use did account for a 46% increased risk of experiencing a major hemorrhage.

“The nature of our databases don’t allow us to gauge the severity of bleeding,” Antoniou said. “However, we tried to capture major episodes of bleeding by identifying those instances that resulted in either a hospital admission or emergency department visit.”

The study participants that were most likely to experience a risk of bleeding from Pradaxa use included patients over the age of 75 who had been diagnosed with kidney problems.

“Lovastatin and simvastatin can block the activity of a protein that limits the amount of (dabigatran) that enters the body from the gut,” the authors of the blood thinner study said. When patients have less of the “bouncer” P-glycoprotein, higher amounts of dabigatran can get into the body and increase the risk of Pradaxa bleeding.

Antoniou also stated that other statin drugs do not work by blocking P-glycoprotein, and thus wouldn’t be expected to have the same interaction with Pradaxa.

“Because other statins would not be expected to interact with (dabigatran), preferential use of those drugs should be considered in patients with (dabigatran) to attain the benefits of statin therapy while minimizing the excess risk of bleeding associated with lovastatin or simvastatin,” the study authors said.

If you or someone you love suffered a bleeding incident from Pradaxa use, you may be eligible to file a legal claim. Specialized Pradaxa lawyers are available to help you decide if a Pradaxa lawsuit is right for you.