My Mom has an irregular heart beat which causes clots and then they get thrown into the system. Two strokes in two months. tPA (the miracle drug) has saved her life (and brain and limb!)
To put her on blood thinner or not:
She has Parkinson's and as a result, her blood pressure sometimes drops so fast she passes out. Falling is a possibility.
She has high blood pressure which is hard to control with the previously mentioned low blood pressure problem.
Do you have any information to help me decide whether it's a better bet to risk the stoke or risk bleeding to death? (Uggg!)
My dad takes warfarin and he has had some really hard falls with no internal bleeding. But one idiot doctor had him on high doses and he almost bled out through his kidneys. Damaged them permanently.
I would research the different ones available and weigh the risks, I do not believe that the new generation of blood thinners are as hard to regulate as warfarin/coumadin.
These are such awful choices. I would be concerned about her having a stroke and not getting to the hospital in time for the meds to protect her or having one in a different part of her brain, i would ask the doctor if he was in her position what would he do.
Your best bet is to talk with her doctors about the options. Another stroke may not kill her, but it could severely limit her, paralyze her on one side, she could lose her speech, ability to do any of the ADLs etc.
If she is a fall risk, what sort of mobility aids is she using? Where is she living? If she was in a nursing home, they may be better able to manage falls and the consequences of falls. Plus monitor the impact of the blood thinners.