Genetic testing can now help predict which patients have cardiac higher doses of a common anti-coagulants, a new study is the latest example of "personalized medicine".
Doctors usually prescribe Plavix blood thinner to prevent blood clots in the heart of people who have survived heart attacks.
However, almost one third of cardiac patients have genes that prevent them from properly handle the drug, said Jessica Mega cardiologist, author of the study presented today at the annual meeting of the American Heart Association in Orlando.
Genetic testing can now identify patients with these mutations.
More importantly, the study shows that Mega triple or quadruple the typical dose of Plavix, 75 mg per day helps most people with these genes to treat substance normally.
