What is a common anticoagulant medication used to prevent blood clots?

Warfarin is a common anticoagulant medication that works by inhibiting the synthesis of vitamin K-dependent clotting factors, which are essential for normal blood coagulation. By interfering with the production of these factors, warfarin effectively reduces the blood’s ability to form clots, making it a widely used treatment to prevent thromboembolism in conditions such as atrial fibrillation, venous thromboembolism, and after certain surgeries.

Unlike antiplatelet medications such as aspirin and clopidogrel, which primarily prevent the aggregation of platelets, warfarin targets the coagulation cascade itself, making it a classic and crucial medication in anticoagulation therapy. Rivaroxaban, while also an anticoagulant, is a newer direct oral anticoagulant that inhibits factor Xa directly, but warfarin remains one of the most recognized anticoagulants historically and in practice. This distinction clarifies why warfarin is the answer to the question regarding common anticoagulants used for preventing blood clots.