Cardiology Patient Page

Circ.ahajournals.org: 7/31/12

Until recently, most patients taking warfarin (brand name Coumadin) had to visit a laboratory and/or clinic every few weeks for an international normalized ratio (INR) blood test and adjustment of their warfarin dose. It is now possible for a patient to measure his/her INR (self-testing) with a finger-stick drop of blood with use of a small, portable, battery-powered device. Some self-testing patients adjust their dose of warfarin (self-dosing) based on a set of instructions. Even more recently, online systems have been developed to facilitate and improve self-testing and self-dosing. Patients who use self-testing have described it as life changing. A video on the ease and benefits of self-testing by a physician-patient named Dr Michael Schwartz can be viewed on ClotCare at www.clotcare.org/inrselftestingvideo.aspx. read more