A major proportion of cardiac patients use long-time antithromobitic medication. It is not uncommon that these patients require surgery and operations. Discontinuation of antithrombotic therapy may be used to decrease risk of hemorrhage, but on the other hand the medication break will make the patient susceptible to thrombotic and thromboembolic complications. The attending physician must decide which is safer: to break the medication or to continue it. Often the best choice is a compromise of the above, i.e. application of a somewhat reduced compensatory antithrombotic therapy.