Warfarin is a medicine used to treat and prevent blood clots. It is also known as an anticoagulant and is sometimes called a blood thinner. Blood thinners do not actually “thin” your blood. They lower the risk of blood clots by slowing down how blood clots form.
Normally, blood will clot after an injury. However, some people can form blood clots without being injured. This can be very serious. Warfarin is prescribed to help stop your body from making harmful blood clots.
Blood clots are dangerous because they can stop blood and oxygen from getting to the rest of your body. Sometimes this can cause death. Blood clots can form in your arteries, veins, or heart. They can break off and travel through your blood. This may cause a stroke when they get stuck in blood vessels of the brain. They can also go to your lungs.
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