Experts warn against blood thinners, which have been frequently on the agenda in recent years and have been reported to have increased in frequency of use after the Covid-19 pandemic, which has been effective worldwide. Although use is necessary for people with various heart problems, it is stated that indiscriminate use of blood thinners without a doctor’s control can be life-threatening. Sultangazi Haseki Training and Research Hospital Cardiology Department Education Manager Prof. Dr. Erdal Belen also made important warnings to citizens.
Speaking about the effect of blood thinners in hair transplantation, which is performed by many local and foreign citizens, Prof. Dr. Belen gave information by saying that it causes problems when people stop or start taking blood thinners on their own due to the procedure.
“IT IS A MISTAKE TO STOP AND CONTINUE WITHOUT ASKING A DOCTOR”
Cardiology Specialist Prof. Dr. Erdal Belen, who stated that blood thinners have vital effects and that it is wrong to use or stop using them without consulting a doctor, said, “The issue of blood thinners is very vital, they can be life-saving for some people but can be life-destroying for others. There are various blood thinners; there are much milder ones and heavy ones. If you have a heart, brain or leg artery occlusion, if you have a stent, if you have had a bypass, you should use blood thinners for life. In addition, in some heart rhythm disorders, leg artery occlusions, and clot in the lungs, we have to use them for life or sometimes for a period of 6 months to 1 year, which we determine. The most common thing we encounter right now is unnecessary use. You are over the age of 60, you should use a blood thinner or you have hypertension, diabetes, no, we should never use them unless you have the diseases I listed, why? The simplest thing is that when we cut ourselves, the bleeding does not stop, bruising on the skin, but more stomach and intestinal bleeding, and the most dangerous is brain bleeding. Let me give an example; Covid because it has been very famous lately. The risk of heart disease increases in Covid and other infections, but routine use of blood thinners does not reduce this, it increases bleeding a lot in widespread use. That’s why we should not use it as we please. Unfortunately, social media is a huge problem, we see especially people who are not doctors and do not have their own field of expertise recommending simple tablet-form blood thinners, not to mention even injection-form ones, they should definitely not listen to them. We even hear things like; ‘I walk, I get tired easily’, ‘It speeds up blood circulation in your legs, take blood thinners’ this is a very serious mistake. If we go to other departments, they blame us, ‘You prescribe too many blood thinners’, we don’t actually prescribe them, people use them as we please. It is a mistake to stop or continue without asking a doctor,” he said.
“HEART ATTACKS ARE COMING FROM THE HAIR TRANSPLANTATION TABLE”
Speaking about the effect of blood thinners on hair transplantation, Prof. Dr. Belen said, “Interesting, let me tell you something we have come across recently; hair transplantation is very well done in our country and has increased. Heart attacks come from the hair transplantation table, why? Maybe they are unconscious when they should use it, maybe they do not tell the authorized person there, they are cut. Even these have increased, the person performing the procedure and the doctor must definitely make a joint decision. Since the hair will be transplanted, it is a bleeding and somewhat painful method, the patient has cut it wisely, but this causes heart attacks and fatal results on the table. Let me give an example; we see patients even without liposuction. It shows how serious this is. It interacts, if you are using a blood thinner, we need to think a thousand times before taking an antibiotic, if appropriate, we should consult our family doctor. They should ask their doctor about its interaction with food. I am taking this blood thinner, does it interact with food, because sometimes some foods are consumed a lot in some regions, in this case it can increase bleeding or clotting.”
Prof. Dr. Belen said, “We see it in patients coming from abroad and in patients here. Among these patients, there may be a miscommunication, they do not tell the authorized person there about the blood thinners they are taking, and they do not stop them. Those who do not stop them come with bleeding, those who stop them come with heart attacks because it is a long procedure. During hair transplantation, adrenaline will increase with the pain and we will get stressed, this is normal. This will increase the risk of heart disease. If they stopped the blood thinners at their own discretion, unfortunately, such patients started coming for emergency angiography and coronary intensive care. Most of the patients who have hair transplantation are young, and since the side vessels of young patients are not very developed, unfortunately, they have a worse course. The side vessels of those who are a little older are developing, even if one part is blocked, it can be fed from another part. It is more fatal and has worse results in young people.
They think, ‘There is Alzheimer’s or dementia in my family’, ‘You should use blood thinners routinely so that the blood flow to the brain increases’. It can cause very, very fatal results, we should not do these. A patient who uses it unnecessarily will not only have no benefit, but will also have the risk of bleeding, sports and exercise increase our blood health,” he said.
(UAV)
