Posted by Bill Kilgore on March 10, 2003 at 18:28:32:
In Reply to: Re: Maze and Mitral Valve Repair and Plavix posted by steve giddings on March 10, 2003 at 17:26:40:
Excellent post, Steve. If one is on Coumadin (Warfarin) and has some extra cash to buy a microcoagulation testing machine, the place to call is Quality Assured Services at (800) 298-4515. They sell the ProTime Monitor. The test requires a few drops of blood from a finger prick. I test at home every three weeks and have been much more successful at staying within range (2.0 - 3.0) since acquiring the machine. If my INR is low I reduce dietary intake of vitamin K; if high I increase dietary intake of vitamin K. I do not adjust my medicine dose without consulting with my doctor.