Can Warfarin Increase The Blood Alcohol Level?

Posted on Sun, 5 May 2013

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Sun, 5 May 2013 Answered on

Tue, 28 May 2013 Last reviewed on

Question : Can Warfarin which is a blood thinner make your blood alcahol levels read higher then they actually are

Answered by Dr. Jorge Brenes-Salazar (11 minutes later)

Dear patient,

Thank you for your health concerns. It is actually the other way around: alcohol can elevate the levels of warfarin and thus increase bleeding risk. Alcohol by itself has a very steady metabolism, that is dependent on time in a linear fashion.

Hope this is helpful, wish you the best health,

Dr Brenes-Salazar MD
Cardiology
Mayo Clinic

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Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Prasad