Mellanie True Hills: Home Anticoagulation Monitoring Is An Effective Alternative to Coumadin Clinics
In a study funded by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, VA hospital patients on warfarin for atrial fibrillation or mechanical heart valves were tracked and home anticoagulation monitoring was found to be every bit as effective as INR (International Normalized Ratio) testing in the hospital clinic.
Patients were followed for an average of three years. In that time, 7.9% of home monitoring patients had experienced a stroke, a major bleed, or death as compared to 8.9% of those tested in the clinic.
Thus, home monitoring can be considered to be an effective alternative for those who are disabled or must travel long distances to reach a clinic and are deemed able to perform home testing.
Read: Home monitoring is as safe as clinic testing for patients on blood thinner, but not superior
Earlier this year, Medicare announced coverage for home testing, which opened the door for widespread coverage by insurance companies.
Read more: Medicare Announces Expanded Coverage For Warfarin Patients Monitoring Clotting Time At Home
BIO:
Mellanie True Hills is a heart disease survivor, heart health expert, internationally-known author, and non-profit CEO.
Newsweek said, "a near-death experience prompted Mellanie to make a career of telling others what they need to know about heart disease." Following a brush with death in emergency heart surgery, and a near-stroke from a frightening irregular heartbeat later that same year, Mellanie True Hills pledged to use her second chance to help others avoid the #1 and #3 killers, heart disease and stroke.
As CEO of the American Foundation for Women's Health, her mission is to raise awareness of heart disease and stroke with her inspirational and motivational keynotes for American Heart Association Go Red for Women events, hospital women's health events, and corporate and association events.
We value and respect the experiences of all of our HERWriters, but everyone is different. Many of our writers are speaking from personal experience, and what's worked for them may not work for you. Their articles are not a substitute for medical advice although we hope you can gain knowledge from their insight.
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