An increasing number of patients receive anticoagulant therapy to prevent and 
treat arterial or venous thromboembolism. The major complication of 
anticoagulant therapy is the increase of the individual bleeding risk. All 
anticoagulant drugs can cause haemorrhages, that can sometimes be 
life-threatening. Although heparins and the vitamin K antagonists have been the 
most widely used anticoagulants for decades, the correct management of bleeding 
complications associated with these agents has been poorly studied. More 
recently, new anticoagulant drugs, both parenteral and oral, have been approved 
for clinical use. Currently, none of these new agents has a specific antidote, 
and little advise can be given on how to manage a major bleeding event. The aim 
of this article is to describe the haemorrhagic risk and the management of 
bleeding complications associated with the principal anticoagulant drugs.