Millions of older Americans are prescribed a blood thinner to help reduce the stroke risks associated with a dangerous irregular heartbeat known as atrial fibrillation. However, as many as one-quarter of people with atrial fibrillation who have a low risk of stroke are given blood-thinning drugs they likely don’t need, a new drug study contends.

Atrial fibrillation (a form of irregular heartbeat) can cause blood clots. Those blood clots can then travel to the brain and cause a stroke. To prevent this from happening, many people with atrial fibrillation are prescribed blood thinners, like Pradaxa. However, because the anticoagulant drugs also have a risk of causing excessive bleeding, they generally aren’t recommended for people with atrial fibrillation who have the lowest risk for stroke, the study authors explain.

Study Suggests Blood Thinners Like Pradaxa Are Overprescribed

The anticoagulant study, published online April 13 in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine, included information from nearly 11,000 atrial fibrillation patients across the United States who were all younger than 60. These patients were also all considered to have a low risk of stroke, according to the researchers. Still, the study found about 25 percent of them were prescribed blood thinners, like Pradaxa, despite their low risk status.

“In those patients with no risk factors for stroke, the risk of bleeding likely outweighs the benefit of stroke reduction. The fact that blood thinners were prescribed to so many patients with no risk factors for stroke is a wake-up call that we need to do better for our patients,” study lead author Dr. Jonathan Hsu from the University of California, San Francisco, states.

Men were more likely to be prescribed blood thinners than women, as were older patients and overweight patients without stroke risk factors, according to the findings in a research letter The findings of this blood thinner drug study show that doctors may not be fully aware of the potential risks of these anticoagulant drugs, or the particularly low risk of stroke in certain atrial fibrillation patients, the researchers claim.

Pradaxa Bleeding Risks

Pradaxa (generic dabigatran) is a relatively new blood thinner that was introduced as a replacement for Warfarin in the prevention of strokes among individuals suffering from atrial fibrillation. However, the potential risk of Pradaxa bleeding side effects has caused serious concern surrounding the drug shortly after it was introduced to the American drug market. Internal hemorrhaging caused by Pradaxa is so dangerous because doctors do not have a way to stop it. Pradaxa internal bleeding symptoms may include:

• Unusual Bruising or Bleeding
• Pink or Brown Urine (which may be a sign of blood in the urine)
• Red or Black Tarry Stool (which may be a sign of blood in the stool)
• Coughing up Blood (which may include vomiting that resembles coffee grounds)
• Headaches, Dizziness or Lethargy
• Bleeding from the Gums or Frequent Nose Bleeds
• Weakness and Swelling of the Arms, Hands, Feet, Ankles or Lower Legs

Pradaxa Lawsuits

Pradaxa is still on the market and has not been recalled. Patients that have suffered from Pradaxa internal bleeding while using the drug may be eligible for compensation. In 2014, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, the maker of Pradaxa, paid approximately $650 million to settle around 4,000 Pradaxa lawsuits, which alleged the drug caused internal bleeding, brain hemorrhaging, or death.

Unfortunately, this settlement only covered Pradaxa lawsuits filed prior to May of 2014. Now, lawyers are filing new Pradaxa lawsuits in 2015 to help those victims that did not receive compensation from the first litigation, or those injured since May 2014.