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What does INR mean medically?

The INR stands for international normalized ratio.  This is a number that measures how quickly or how slowly the blood clots.  The normal INR value is up to 1.1.  If your INR is above 1.1, it means your blood takes longer than normal to clot.   The normal clotting time for blood is 10-13 seconds.  Conditions that can make blood clot more slowly include liver disorders, inadequate amounts of clotting proteins, vitamin K deficiency, or ingestion of blood thinners such as warfarin.

If your INR level is lower than 1.1, it means that your blood clots faster than normal.  This can be caused by ingestion of supplements containing vitamin K, eating foods with high vitamin K content, such as broccoli, or use of estrogen as found in birth control pills or hormone replacement medication, among other causes. 

If you have a heart condition called atrial fibrillation, or have a mechanical heart valve replacement, you may be prescribed a strong blood thinner called warfarin or Coumadin to take daily.  In this case, you will need to have your blood INR level checked on a regular basis, usually every 2-4 weeks, as this medication level can fluctuate in your body and make your blood thicker or thinner depending on your ingestion of foods with high vitamin K levels and other medications you may be taking.  The INR level is monitored by your physician.

* Savings estimate based on a study of more than 1 billion claims comparing self-pay (or cash pay) prices of a frequency-weighted market basket of procedures to insurer-negotiated rates for the same. Claims were collected between July 2017 and July 2019. R.Lawrence Van Horn, Arthur Laffer, Robert L.Metcalf. 2019. The Transformative Potential for Price Transparency in Healthcare: Benefits for Consumers and Providers. Health Management Policy and Innovation, Volume 4, Issue 3.

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