Stroke Patients are Not Always Getting their Recommended Drug!

The American Heart Association/American Stroke Association provides guidelines that say people who suffer from a stroke, and have atrial fibrillation ("AF"; a heart-rhythm problem), should take the clot-fighting drug Warfarin. Yet, a new study actually found that not all of those patients get that medication and even when they do, they just start the medication and quit it soon after!

The study noted that out of the 291 surveyed who suffered a stroke and had AF, only 85 percent of them were discharged from the hospital on Warfarin! An of that group, only 80 percent of them stayed on the drug for a year after the stroke!

AF, the condition itself, is when the heart's upper chambers abnormally contract and shake. This can, over time, create an increased risk of a stroke because the blood is not being efficiently pumped through the heart and it can actually clot in the heart. Warfarin helps to prevent clots, particularly these kind of clots.

This is absolutely scary! This either comes from doctors failing to prescribe it or not describing the dangerous of the patient's new condition. Now, it is certainly difficult to be on Warfarin because the patient needs to frequently go in to have blood work done to make sure it is working, and appropriately adjust the levels.

But could this lead to malpractice? Well, just using a guideline as an enforcement principle it could not, by itself, be evidence of medical negligence. However, if the standard of care in your hospital or geographical area is to prescribe Warfarin, and they do not, THIS could be evidence of medical negligence and be used against the doctor.

Has this happened to you or someone you know? I welcome your phone call on my toll-free cell at 1-866-889-6882 or you can drop me an e-mail at jfisher@mmolaw.net. You are always welcome to request my FREE book, The Seven Deadly Mistakes of Malpractice Victims, at the home page of my website at www.protectingpatientrights.com.