I had a blood clot in my leg. How long will I have to take warfarin?
The answer depends upon the cause of the clot. If it is from an unknown cause (which most are) the answer seems to be the longer you take warfarin, the less likely you are to have another occurrence. Taking warfarin for 4 weeks has a high rate of recurrence. Six weeks of therapy is not much better. Three months still has a high rate of recurrence. Six months should be a bare minimum. One year will produce even less recurrences. Two years has been found to be even better. You should know these numbers and discuss them with your physician. Part of the answer is how much you do not want the clot to recur. Remember that a certain percentage of these clots will break loose and move to the lung. Some of these will be fatal.
