Over half of warfarin patients would like to be able to monitor their own blood at home, but are unaware that this is possible, according to a new survey

The vast majority of patients who were surve3yed said they travel to their GP surgery or hospital regularly to have the blood tested, while only one in 10 currently monitor their own INR (International Normalised Ratio - to check coagulationlevels ) at home.

Around 57,000 Irish people are on warfarin - a drug which thins the blood and is very effective at reducing clots, which are a common cause of stroke.

Warfarin therapy is indicated for a number of conditions but predominantly for atrial fibrillation as well as venous thrombosis and for people with artificial heart valves.

The effect of warfarin must be monitored carefully with blood testing to ensure that patients' clotting ability stays within a specific range.

The new research shows that shows that many patients who take warfarin find travelling to appointments for blood testing time-consuming and inconvenient and feel that self-testing at home would improve their quality of life.

Self-testing allows patients to manage their INR levels at home, with benefits for coagulation control, fewer complications such as clotting or bleeds and lower mortality rates.

Over one-in-three (36%) of the warfarin patients visiting their GP surgery or hospital for blood monitoring said that they wished the appointment was not so time-consuming.

More than a quarter (28%) of patients described their visits as 'very inconvenient' and said they would rather not have to do it, with 13% saying it restricted their freedom.

The report shows 41% of warfarin patients have their INR blood level checked at least once a fortnight, and over one-in-three (35%) have them checked once a month. Two out of five of warfarin patients felt self-testing at home would reduce clinic waiting times

The research, on 127 warfarin patients, was commissioned by Roche Diagnostics.