Plavicor has been prescribed for you to prevent blood clots and reduce the risk of these severe events because you have:
• a condition of hardening of arteries (also known as atherosclerosis), and
• previously experienced a heart attack, stroke or have a condition known as peripheral arterial disease, or
• experienced a severe type of chest pain known as “unstable angina” or “myocardial infarction” (heart attack). For the treatment of this condition your doctor may have placed a stent in the blocked or narrowed artery to restore effective blood flow. You should also be given acetylsalicylic acid (a substance present in many medicines used to relieve pain and lower fever as well as to prevent blood clotting) by your doctor.
• an irregular heartbeat, a condition called “atrial fibrillation”, and you cannot take medicines known as “oral anticoagulants”(vitamin K antagonists) which prevent new clots from forming and prevent existing clots from growing. You should know that oral anticoagulants are more effective than acetylsalicylic acid or the combined use of Plavicor and acetylsalicylic acid for this condition. Your doctor should prescribe Plavicor plus acetylsalicylic acid if you cannot take oral anticoagulants and if there is no risk of massive bleeding for you.
