To answer this question, Brilinta is a blood thinner often prescribed to prevent heart attack or stroke among high-risk patients. However, as a blood thinner, it can also cause severe bleeding as one of its adverse effects. For individuals who have prior experience with a heart attack, Brilinta helps lower the risk of mortality or death caused by another heart attack.
Is Brilinta a blood thinner?
Brilinta is a common antiplatelet drug. Blood cells called platelets assist in the formation of clots that control bleeding. Clots can be harmful if they develop in your blood arteries because they can restrict blood flow and cause a heart attack or stroke. Brilinta reduces your risk of heart attack or stroke by stopping your platelets from clumping into one another and creating harmful blood clots.
Common side effects of Brilinta
Some of the usual side effects of Brilinta are the following:
- Bruising
- Bleeding more easily
- Nosebleeds
- Headache
- Dizziness
- Cough
- Nausea
- Diarrhea
- Irregular heartbeat
- High blood pressure
- Back pain
- Low blood pressure
- Fatigue
- Chest pain
Serious side effects of Brilinta
Brilinta also has some serious adverse effects on your health.
- Allergic hypersensitivity reaction
- Severe bleeding
- Bradyarrhythmia (abnormally slow heart rate)
- Atrioventricular block (slowing or absence of electrical conduction between the top and bottom chambers of the heart)
- Thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (a life-threatening condition in which blood clots form within small blood vessels throughout the body)
- Central sleep apnea (periods of slowing and cessation of breathing while sleeping due to a neurologic cause)
Long-term effects of Brilinta
Brilinta’s long-term effects and usage require more research. The risks of fatal bleeding, cerebral hemorrhage, and mortality from any cause were not different, even though bleeding rates were more significant in individuals using Brilinta with aspirin than those taking aspirin alone.
How long do the side effects of Brilinta last?
Most common side effects, such as dyspnea and diarrhea, should go away shortly after you stop taking Brilinta. While using Brilinta, a higher serum creatinine level may decline. However, bleeding might continue after quitting the medication.
After discontinuing Brilinta, other potentially harmful side effects, such as allergic reactions, could also endure. Every one of the severe side effects requires immediate medical supervision.
Brilinta drug interactions
There is a long list of medications that interact with Brilinta. Discussing your prescriptions, over-the-counter drugs, and dietary supplements with a medical professional is crucial.
The following are some of the drugs that can interact with Brilinta:
- Anticoagulants (blood thinners) such as warfarin
- Antiplatelet agents such as Plavix
- Drugs or foods which interact with the p-glycoprotein or CYP3A4 enzymes, such as grapefruit, ritonavir, atazanavir, digoxin, carbamazepine, phenytoin, phenobarbital, simvastatin, lovastatin, ketoconazole, itraconazole, and rifampin
- Drugs that also cause bradycardia or AV block
- Drugs that cause delayed gastric (stomach) emptying
