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Last updated: 02/17/2009
People who take certain medicines may be at greater risk for severe bleeding when they receive a thrombolytic agent. Anyone who is given a thrombolytic agent should tell the physician in charge about all other prescription or nonprescription (over-the-counter)...
medicines he or she is taking. Among the medicines that may increase the chance of bleeding are:
- aspirin and other medicines for pain and inflammation
- blood thinners (anticoagulants)
- antiseizure medicines, including divalproex (Depakote) and valproic acid (Depakene)
- cephalosporins, including cefamandole (Mandol), cefoperazone (Cefobid), and cefotetan (Cefotan)
In addition, anyone who has been treated with anistreplase or streptokinase within the past year should tell the physician in charge. These drugs may not work properly if they are given again, so the physician may want to use a different thrombolytic agent.
Patients who are taking thrombolytic medications should not take vitamin E supplements or certain herbal preparations without consulting their doctor. High doses of vitamin E can increase the risk of hemorrhagic stroke. Ginger, borage, angelica, dong quai, feverfew, and other herbs can intensify the anticlotting effect of thrombolytic medications and increase the risk of bleeding.
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Thrombolytic therapy is a treatment used to break up dangerous clots inside your blood vessels. To perform this treatment, your physician injects clot-dissolving medications into a blood vessel. In some cases, the medications flow through your bloodstream to the clot. In other cases, your physician guides a long, thin tube, called a catheter, through your blood vessels to the area of the clot. Depending on the circumstances, the tip of the catheter may carry special attachments that break up clots. The catheter then delivers medications or mechanically breaks up the clot.
Thrombolytic therapy commonly is used to treat an ischemic stroke, which is another name for a clot in a blood vessel in your brain. It can also be used to treat clots in:
A lung artery, called a pulmonary embolism;
The deep veins of your leg, called deep vein thrombosis (DVT);
Your heart, which may cause a heart attack;
An artery elsewhere in your body, such as in an arm or leg artery; or
A bypass graft or dialysis catheter that has become blocked.
From http://www.vascularweb.org/patients/NorthPoint/Thrombolytic_Therapy.html
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