Blood Thinner Overdose Linked To Bleeding Problems

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A recent study conducted by Duke University's Dr. Karen Alexander found that almost 50% of heart attack patients are given too high a dosage of blood thinning medication, and this can lead to excessive bleeding.

Those given too much of two newer blood thinners -- low molecular weight heparin and drugs sometimes called ''super-aspirin'' -- had more than a 30 percent increased chance of major bleeding than those given the recommended dose.

Most of the more than one million heart attack patients in the United States each year have the type of heart attack studied -- relatively small but still serious, involving plaque-narrowed arteries and clots that reduce blood flow to the heart.

An estimated 117,000 episodes of bleeding occur each year in these patients, including excessive bleeding at catheter sites, from pre-existing stomach ulcers, and in the brain, where it is particularly dangerous, said Duke University researcher Dr. Karen Alexander, lead author of the study in today's Journal of the American Medical Association.

Read the report on blood thinner bleeding problems.