Home Tests May Cut Warfarin Clot Risk

Many people taking the blood thinner warfarin may cut their risk of blood clots in half by doing required blood tests at home, a study finds. The best dose of warfarin varies, even for the same person. To prevent clots or excess bleeding, people get regular blood tests. Based on the results, they may need to take a different dose. The new study put together results from 11 prior studies. They included a total of 6,400 people. All of the studies compared people who got standard office tests with those who tested at home. The people who tested at home used a special meter to test a drop of blood. People who used office or home testing had similar risks of excess bleeding or death. For some groups, blood clot risk was cut in half or more with home tests. Those who benefited most included people with mechanical heart valves and people under age 55.