Blood-thinning drugs help blood flow smoothly through your arteries and veins. Also called blood thinners, they prevent the formation of blood clots and keep them from getting bigger.
Typically, blood-thinning drugs are used for the treatment of heart disease and heart defects, and other medical conditions that could increase your risk of getting dangerous blood clots, such as deep vein thrombosis (DVT), stroke, pulmonary embolism, among others.
Blood thinners can offer protection against heart attacks and strokes. However, they do come with a few risks, such as bleeding. The drugs may cause you to bleed more than usual when there is a cut. The benefits of these drugs outweigh the potential risks so it is important to take blood thinners only under the supervision of a doctor.
Types of Blood Thinners
Anticoagulants and antiplatelets are the two types of blood thinners. Anticoagulants keep your blood from clotting. They prevent the formation of solid clumps of cells that stick together. Antiplatelets are the drugs that target platelet, one of the components of the blood.
Common examples of anticoagulants include:
- Eliquis (apixaban)
- Innohep (heparin)
- Coumadin (warfarin)
- Xarelto (rivaroxaban)
- Pradaxa (dabigatran)
- Fragmin (dalteparin)
- Savaysa (edoxaban)
- Lovenox (enoxaparin)
- Arixtra (fondaparinux)
Common examples of antiplatelets include:
- Ecotrin (aspirin)
- Plavix (clopidogrel)
- Persantine (dipyridamole)
- Integrilin (eptifibatide)
- Effient (prasugrel)
- Brilinta (ticagrelor)
- Aggrastat (tirofiban)
- Zontivity (vorapaxar)
Most of the abovementioned blood-thinning drugs are not available as generics. However, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a few.
In May 2012, the FDA approved generic versions of clopidogrel (Plavix). In December 2019, the drug regulatory body approved generic versions of apixaban (Eliquis). Generic apixaban approvals were granted to Mylan Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Micro Labs Ltd. The lowest price for Generic Plavix 75 mg is $5.40 for 30 tablets, which is 90% cheaper than the branded version that is available at an average retail price of $58.30 for 30 tablets, according to GoodRx. The lowest price for Generic Eliquis 5 mg is around $494 for 60 tablets, 15% cheaper than branded one that costs $583.
