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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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Is Aspirin Advisable Instead Of Eliquis For Atrial Fibrillation?

I have afib, am 50 years old , 200lbs, and am about to take my last Eliquis 5mg that I have. My insurance wull no longer cover Eliquis, so CVS said I should contact my PCP to get a newly approved prescription for something similar. I ve spoken to the PCP s office 3 times today, with a promise that they will talk to the doctor and get back to me. My question is, will I be ok for a few days with out the prescription, or should I take aspirin in the meantime?
posted on Sat, 26 Nov 2016
Twitter Sat, 5 Jan 2019 Answered on
Twitter Tue, 8 Jan 2019 Last reviewed on
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General & Family Physician,  's  Response
Hello,

Eliquis is an anticoagulant that helps keep the blood thin and prevent coagulation and thrombosis. Aspirin is a drug that prevents the development of thrombus but is not as effective in treating the ones that are already present.
If a patient uses an anticoagulant or aspirin this depends on the CV risk which takes several factors in consideration and because you were already put in an anticoagulant very likely you have high enough CV risk to take and anticoagulant instead of aspirin so very likely you will need to use an anticoagulant that is cheaper and that the insurance will cover but still works well.

If you can see your PCP soon and can have a prescription it is best to do so. If you can not then you can take aspirin meanwhile but is not the best substitute for Eliquis.

Hope I have answered your query. Let me know if I can assist you further.

Regards,
Dr. Antoneta Zotaj,
General & Family Physician
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Is Aspirin Advisable Instead Of Eliquis For Atrial Fibrillation?

Hello, Eliquis is an anticoagulant that helps keep the blood thin and prevent coagulation and thrombosis. Aspirin is a drug that prevents the development of thrombus but is not as effective in treating the ones that are already present. If a patient uses an anticoagulant or aspirin this depends on the CV risk which takes several factors in consideration and because you were already put in an anticoagulant very likely you have high enough CV risk to take and anticoagulant instead of aspirin so very likely you will need to use an anticoagulant that is cheaper and that the insurance will cover but still works well. If you can see your PCP soon and can have a prescription it is best to do so. If you can not then you can take aspirin meanwhile but is not the best substitute for Eliquis. Hope I have answered your query. Let me know if I can assist you further. Regards, Dr. Antoneta Zotaj, General & Family Physician