Mayo Clinic Minute: Research shows newer blood thinners have lower risk of kidney function decline

About 3 million Americans have atrial fibrillation, or A-fib. And while blood thinners can drastically decrease their stroke risk, new research shows the drugs could be seriously damaging their kidneys.

People with A-fib often have problems with blood clots forming that can lead to strokes. To prevent the clots, health care providers generally prescribe these patients with anticoagulant drugs, or blood thinners.

But new research looks at how anticoagulants can cause kidney damage, and how different kinds of anticoagulants affect the kidneys differently.