A Patient's Guide to Taking Dabigatran Etexilate

Abstract

Dabigatran etexilate is a prescription medication used to slow and inhibit the formation of blood clots. Dabigatran is known by the trade name Pradaxa in the United States and all other countries in which it is marketed except Japan (Prazaxa) and Canada (Pradax). Although forming blood clots is a normal and important body function needed to stop bleeding, for some people the blood clot formation process can become harmful. For example, people with an irregular heart rhythm known as atrial fibrillation are at an increased risk of stroke because of the formation of harmful blood clots. Dabigatran is an anticoagulant type of medication. Anticoagulants prevent blood clots from forming. The medication warfarin (Coumadin) is another example of an anticoagulant. Anticoagulants are also commonly called blood thinners, although they work by preventing blood clot formation and not by making the blood thinner. The formation of blood clots in the body is a very complex process that requires multiple steps occurring in a particular order. Substances known as clotting factors are used and produced in each step in the process. One of the final steps of clot formation involves a clotting factor known as thrombin. Dabigatran works in the blood by blocking the action of thrombin, which inhibits the clot-making process. Dabigatran has been approved in the United States to reduce the risk of stroke and other harmful blood clots in people with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation. Dabigatran is available as a capsule in doses of 75 and 150 mg (Figure, A and B). The usual dose of dabigatran is a 150-mg capsule twice a day by mouth. For people with certain types of kidney problems, the dose may be decreased to 75 mg twice a day. The dabigatran capsule may …