Managing Medications: Taking an Anticoagulant
3:47
Managing medications is one of the most common responsibilities of unpaid caregivers who are helping family members or friends. This task can be particularly challenging when the medication is considered high-risk. This episode of the Home Alone Alliance TM series on managing medications presents information about one frequently prescribed high-risk drug—warfarin. Warfarin is the generic name of the drug. Warfarin is often described, even by health care professionals, as a “blood thinner.” This is a common but inaccurate term. Warfarin does not thin blood; as an anticoagulant, it prevents blood from coagulating, that is, clotting. It is prescribed for people who have heart conditions like an irregular heartbeat called atrial fibrillation (A-Fib) or heart valve problems. It is also prescribed for people who have had blood clots in their legs or lungs to prevent a recurrence, and to people who are at risk of stroke.
Managing medications is one of the most common responsibilities of unpaid caregivers who are helping family members or friends. This task can be particularly challenging when the medication is considered high-risk. This episode of the Home Alone Alliance TM series on managing medications presents information about one frequently prescribed high-risk drug—warfarin. Warfarin is the generic name of the drug. Warfarin is often described, even by health care professionals, as a “blood thinner.” This is a common but inaccurate term. Warfarin does not thin blood; as an anticoagulant, it prevents blood from coagulating, that is, clotting. It is prescribed for people who have heart conditions like an irregular heartbeat called atrial fibrillation (A-Fib) or heart valve problems. It is also prescribed for people who have had blood clots in their legs or lungs to prevent a recurrence, and to people who are at risk of stroke.
Family Caregiving Similar Videos
-
Cowboy Sings to People at the End of Their Lives
4:20
Freddie Fuller, the “Singing Cowboy,” uses music to bring joy and comfort to people in hospice and at end-of-life celebrations around Austin, Texas.
-
A Conversation About Caregiving with Lisa Ling
33:03
Lisa Ling talks to AARP caregiving expert Amy Goyer about the challenges of being a sandwich generation caregiver for her father and young kids.
-
Millennial Put Life on Hold to Care for Family
4:06
Carri Brown dropped everything to care for her grandfather and mother. Despite the sacrifices she made, Brown is grateful for her caregiving experience.