Warfarin
CoumadinPubChem CID 54678486 · 3D model
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Blocks the liver enzyme that recycles vitamin K, which the body needs to make key blood-clotting proteins, so clots form more slowly.
How it works
Warfarin works by interfering with vitamin K, a nutrient the liver uses to build several proteins involved in blood clotting. With less active vitamin K available, the liver produces weaker versions of these clotting proteins, so blood clots less readily. Because your body still has older, fully functional clotting proteins circulating when you start the drug, it takes a few days, not hours, for the full effect to kick in. This is also why people on warfarin need regular blood tests to make sure their dose is keeping clotting in a safe range.
What it’s used for
Used to prevent and treat blood clots in the legs or lungs, to lower stroke risk in people with irregular heart rhythms or artificial heart valves, and to reduce the chance of another heart attack, stroke, or dangerous clot after someone has already had a heart attack.
- Mechanism
- Vitamin K epoxide reductase inhibitor
- Drug class
- Small molecule
- Therapeutic area
- Anticoagulant