As blood thinners become scarce: pharmacists warn of increased risk of heart attack

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The Basel-Stadt Pharmacists’ Association warns of an increased risk of heart attack. That’s because of the bottleneck in the blood thinner Marcoumar, which is used to prevent heart and brain infarctions, as the association announced Friday. The federal government relativizes.

Marcoumar is no longer prescribed as often as it used to be because there are newer and more expensive active ingredients on the market, the pharmacists’ association said. Still, there are patients who trust Marcoumar. There are no equivalent substitutions for generic drugs in Switzerland. The drug is still available in Germany, but is more expensive than in Switzerland.

“There are alternatives”

At the request of the Keystone-SDA news agency, alternatives are available for the prophylaxis and treatment of thrombosis and thromboembolism, according to the competent Federal Office of National Procurement (FONES). “The increased risk of heart attack cannot be attributed to Marcoumar’s absence.”

In some parts of Switzerland, Sintrom rather than Marcoumar is almost exclusively prescribed as a blood thinner. BWL is the expert body’s decision as to whether and in what circumstances a switch to Sintrom or a temporary blood thinner prefilled syringe can be made. (pbe/SDA)

Source :Blick