Effects of excessive coagulation in the human body

Effects of excessive coagulation in the human body

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When a person is cut or injured, the body naturally forms blood clots to stop the bleeding.  If your blood does not clot, you can order Vitamin k2 online to provide the necessary support to your body. Blood proteins called fibrin act with small fragments of blood cells, or platelets, to form the clot. This is called coagulation, a process that helps the body when an injury occurs because it halts the blood loss by stopping it and increasing viscosity.

EXCESSIVE COAGULATION

Once the bleeding is stopped and the cut or wound heals, the body must dissolve the clots and remove them. However, sometimes, blood clots do not dissolve properly or move through the body, thus fail to limit or block blood flow.

This is excessive coagulation or hypercoagulation, and it can be very dangerous. In case of excessive coagulation, the clots can form or move to the arteries or veins of the brain, heart, kidneys, lungs and extremities, which, in turn, can cause a heart attack, a stroke, organ damage or even death.

SYMPTOMS

  • Excessive blood clotting (thrombophilia) occurs when the blood clots easily or excessively.
  • Inherited or acquired diseases can increase blood clotting.
  • Blood clots cause arms or legs to swell.
  • The level of proteins in the blood that controls coagulation is measured.
  • Patients may need anticoagulants.
  • Most diseases that trigger thrombophilia increase the risk of a blood clot in the veins. Some increase the risk of blood clot formation in both the arteries and veins.

In most inherited diseases, the risk of thrombosis only increases in young adulthood. However, clots can form at any age.

The symptoms vary depending on the location of the blood clot. If the blood clot travels to the lungs (a so-called pulmonary embolism), the person suffers from shortness of breath and chest pain. A blood clot in the leg (called deep vein thrombosis) causes the leg to feel warm, turn red, and swell.

Causes

Some of the disorders that cause thrombophilia are inherited. Many arise because of the amount or function of certain blood proteins that control blood clotting changes. Example:

  • Antithrombin deficiency
  • Protein C deficiency
  • Protein S deficiency
  • Protein Z deficiency
  • The prothrombin 20210 mutation (a specific mutation in the prothrombin gene that causes the body to make excessive amounts of prothrombin, a protein involved in the blood clotting process)

Other disorders that cause thrombophilia arise after birth. Examples of such disorders are disseminated intravascular coagulopathy (which often occurs in people with cancer) and antiphospholipid syndrome (including the presence of lupus “anticoagulant”), which increases the risk of clot formation due to overactivity of the clotting factors. Hyperhomocysteinemia (an unusual increase in the concentration of the amino acid homocysteine, which is mostly caused by a vitamin B6, vitamin B12 or folate deficiency) is a possible cause of thrombophilia.

Other factors, along with thrombophilia, can increase the risk of a clot. Health conditions often play a role, causing a lack of exercise that leads to blood congestion in the veins. Examples include paralysis, prolonged sitting (especially in confined spaces such as cars or airplanes), long bed rest, and the state of health after an operation or a heart attack. Heart failure, a condition in which blood is insufficiently pumped through the circulatory system, is a risk factor. Conditions that increase pressure on the veins, including being overweight and pregnant, are other risk factors.

Complications

Many sufferers get thrombosis in the deep leg veins (deep leg vein thrombosis), which can lead to swelling in the leg. Such a clot can lead to pulmonary embolism. After several deep vein thrombosis, severe swelling and discoloration of the skin can occur (chronic deep vein weakness). Sometimes the clots form in superficial leg veins and cause pain and redness (superficial thrombophlebitis ). Blood clots in the arm and abdominal veins as well as in veins within the skull rarely occur. Antiphospholipid antibody syndrome can cause blood clots in the arteries or veins.

If blood clots block blood flow in the arteries, the blood flow to the tissue is reduced and the tissue can be damaged or destroyed, possibly causing a heart attack or stroke.

Repeated miscarriages can occur in women.

Diagnosis

A blood test can determine the specific cause of the blood clot. Examinations can be done to find the location of the blood clot.

If someone has had a blood clot at least twice without an identifiable predisposing factor, it indicates an inherited condition that causes thrombophilia. An inherited disease can also be suspected if blood clots have occurred in the family of the person concerned. Even a young, healthy person who develops a blood clot for no apparent reason is suspected of having a congenital disorder.

To identify specific congenital thrombophilia disorders, blood tests are performed to determine the amount and activity of the various proteins that control coagulation.

Other tests depend on where the blood clot occurs. If a blood clot is suspected in the leg, an ultrasound examination is carried out to look for a blockage in a leg vein. If pulmonary embolism is suspected, a special nuclear scan or computed tomography (CT) of the lungs is performed.

Treatment

Anticoagulants

Congenital disorders that cause thrombophilia are incurable. Patients with two or more blood clots are advised to take the anticoagulant warfarin (oral for the rest of their lives). Frequent blood clotting tests are necessary for patients taking warfarin. If a patient has had only one blood clot, warfarin or heparin (as an injection) is used to prevent future blood clots when the patient is at increased risk of blood clot formation.

New types of direct oral anticoagulants (DOAK) that do not require frequent blood clotting tests are considered effective alternatives to oral (warfarin). DOAK includes dabigatran, rivaroxaban, apixaban and edoxaban.

Supplements of the deficient vitamins are administered to treat hyperhomocysteinemia.

Other treatments depend on where the blood clot is.

THINGS THAT HELP

  1. Stop smoking and lose weight if necessary.
  2. Avoid medications that contain estrogen, the female hormone. Consult your doctor about other safer options.
  3. Stay physically active if possible. Move your legs, flex and stretch them during long trips. This helps blood flow through the calves.
  4. Talk to your healthcare provider about ways to reduce homocysteine ​​levels if you are high. The doctor may prescribe anticoagulants or blood thinners, before, during or after a surgical intervention or a medical procedure to prevent excessive clotting.

CONCLUSION

With medications and ongoing care, many patients with excessive coagulation can control it successfully.

Although the genetic causes of excessive coagulation cannot be avoided, measures such as the following can be taken to reduce the acquired risk factors:

Some medications are usually called anticoagulants because they can help reduce blood clot formation. There are three main types of anticoagulants that patients usually take: anticoagulants such as warfarin or heparin, platelet antiaggregants such as aspirin and fibrinolytics such as tissue activator of plasminogen (tPA). Each type of medication has a specific function to prevent the formation of blood clots or blood vessel obstruction, heart attack or stroke.