The blood thinner warfarin can prevent strokes in most individuals with abnormal heart rhythms. A study in the Journal of the American Society Nephrology (JASN) found the drug may have the opposite effect in kidney disease patients on dialysis. The risk of stroke in dialysis patients taking the drug was almost three times that of patients not taking warfarin.  The results suggest that warfarin should be prescribed with caution in patients with kidney failure.   

This article originally appeared in the October 2009 issue of Renal Flash.