U.S. spends almost $1B annually on blood thinners

New research suggests that the U.S. spent $900 million on anticoagulant (blood thinner) drugs in 2007, most of which went to senior patients with heart-related conditions. The study, which was developed by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, concluded that about 4.2 million Americans ages 18 and older used an anticoagulant that year.

According to the study, less than 1 percent of U.S. residents younger than 65 were prescribed an anticoagulant in 2007, compared with 6 percent of patients ages 65 to 74, and about 10 percent of patients ages 75 and older.

Seventy-four percent of patients with heart-related conditions--40 percent of those who had surgery that year, and 30 percent of those with cancer or diabetes--had been given those drugs.

Generic prescriptions were far more common than brand-name scripts. With 28 million prescriptions filled by pharmacists in 2007, 19.3 million were for generic medications and 8.5 million for brand-name drugs.

To learn more about this report:
- read this HealthDay News piece

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