Drug May Allow Long-Term Clot Prevention

A new drug may help to prevent blood clots in the legs without causing a risk of bleeding, new research suggests. Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a blood clot that forms in a vein. If it travels to the lungs, heart or brain, it can be deadly. After hospital treatment, people with VTE take warfarin (Coumadin) for 6 to 12 months to help keep new clots away. The risk of new clots continues after this time. But people don’t take warfarin longer because of a risk of bleeding. The new study included nearly 2,500 people who had completed standard treatment with warfarin after VTE. They were randomly assigned to receive apixaban or placebo (fake pills) twice a day. Apixaban reduces the risk of clots in a different way than warfarin. During the next year, 9% of those taking the placebo and 1.7% of those taking apixaban had a new VTE.