3ac Health Tips

 

Information for older people on anti-stroke drugs

A recent article in the Telegraph stated that a number of pensioners have had serious interactions with the flu jab while taking stroke prevention drugs such as Warfarin. Reports such as these have led the government's Committee on Safety of Medicines (CSM) to run an inquiry into the safety of the flu jab for pensioners on Warfarin.
 
The committee were worried about the risk of fatal internal bleeding in over 65s on stroke medication. The well-respected medical reference the British National Formulary also states that the flu vaccine can at times, strengthen the effect of Warfarin. At the end of the inquiry the CSM decided not to alert GPs to the Warfarin-flu jab interaction as the majority of the medical studies they examined did not confirm the effect. However, older people may benefit from being aware.