Blood Clotting Disorders

There are a number of genetic blood clotting disorders that can disrupt the blood clotting mechanism in individuals. The human body automatically creates a blood clot at the opening of a wound so that the bleeding stops. Failure to form these clots can lead to excessive bleeding, and this has many dire consequences. Another form of this disorder leads to blood clots being formed in the bloodstream when they are not required. This leads to the arteries getting blocked, and disrupts the blood circulation inside the body.

Blood clots are formed when proteins and other particles that are present in your blood (also known as platelets) combine together. This process of the particles sticking together is known as coagulation, and it is vitally important that coagulation in the body occurs at all the right times.

Causes

There are a number of causes that lead to this condition, and the most common cause of all are the genetic disorders of the individual. People with a family history of these disorders should be wary about this condition, and should be on the lookout for it. There are also some medicines and drugs that cause these disorders as a side effect, and this is something that most doctors who prescribe medications look into beforehand.

When a person is inactive for a long period of time and does not move around, the chances of developing blood clots in the body are higher. This is why this is a condition that paralyzed people are commonly afflicted by. There are some disorders though, that cause the clotting substances to become overly active, thus triggering off blood clots in places where they are not required. Two such disorders are Antiphospholipid Syndrome and Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation. In the former, some abnormal proteins occur in the blood, whereas in the case of the latter, blood clots increase due to surgery, due to injury or due to the release of toxins by bacteria in the bloodstream.

There are some other blood disorders as well that lead to various blood clotting disorders. Since the platelets are the constituents of blood clots, a low platelet count in the body could lead to excessive bleeding. Even a deficiency of blood cells in the body (a condition known as pancytopenia) can harm an individual in many different ways. Even hereditary spherocytosis is a disorder that could affect the blood clotting ability of the body.

Other Instances

Blood Clotting Disorders In:

...Children
When we speak of this disorder in children, it is important to know that it is in their first month and in their teenage years that they are at the highest risk. Though adults are more commonly afflicted by this condition, children are not completely immune from it. A condition known as Post-Thrombotic Syndrome (PTS), which is a form of poor venous blood circulation, can occur after a blood clot has been formed in the arm or the leg of the child. The most prevalent causes are restriction of movement, constriction of the veins or the intake of certain antibiotics.

...Pregnancy
These disorders and pregnancy have a deeper link though. It is known that a woman's blood clotting ability increases by 6 times when she is pregnant, and sometimes this can be harmful for her and the baby. Furthermore, the uterus constricts the veins and this reduces the blood flow, thus disrupting the formation of blood clots as well. The relation between these disorders and miscarriage is not uncommon, because this causes the placenta to separate from the uterine wall during the delivery, and the excessive bleeding can be harmful for the mother and for the baby.

Thrombophilia Vs Hemophilia

As mentioned before, there are two disorder types in children and adults which can be harmful. These are the cases of excessive bleeding (hemophilia) and thrombophilia (excessive blood clots in the blood stream). Excessive blood clots in the bloodstream are harmful because these clots can block the flow of blood in the body, and some clots can even travel with the blood and damage the heart or the lungs (a condition known as pulmonary embolism). Hemophilia is dangerous because it puts the individual at a natural risk of bleeding to death due to a minor wound. It is important to carry out family testing for clotting disorders in order to ascertain that no family member is afflicted with either of these problems.

Hemophilia is classified into three different types, namely hemophilia A, B and C respectively. The A strain represents around 80% of all hemophilia cases, and it is a genetic lack of the functional clotting factor VIII, simply put, the Factor VIII deficiency . On the other hand, the B strain is the genetic lack of the functional clotting factor IX, i.e. Factor IX deficiency and the remaining 20% of cases are of this type. Both of these are X-linked recessive disorders, unlike the C strain, which is an autosomal genetic disorder. It represents the lack of the functional clotting factor XI. Symptoms of hemophilia are excessive bleeding, internal bleeding, joint damage, and intracranial hemorrhages.

Thrombophilia occurs in an individual either because it is congenital, or because it is acquired due to some external factor. Pregnant women are at a high risk of thrombophilia since it is a temporary hypercoagulable state. Additionally, the individual may be afflicted by Trousseau Syndrome which occurs due to carcinomas of the lungs or the pancreas and then causes thrombophilia. The intake of antiphospholipid antibodies can also cause this condition to surface. Congenital causes of thrombophilia imply the presence of sickle-cell disease, Factor V Leidin or prothrombin mutation. All these cases cause symptoms like pulmonary embolism and deep vein thrombosis.

Here is a list of some of the other blood clotting disorders which result from the deficiency of one of the many coagulation factors in blood plasma. Coagulation factors or clotting factors, as they are also called are a group of substances (proteases or proteins), the presence of which in blood is essential for its clotting. Here are some of these clotting factor deficiencies that lead to such disorders.

• Factor II deficiency
• Factor V deficiency
• Factor VII deficiency
• Factor X deficiency
• Factor XII deficiency
• Von Willebrand disease

Also, platelet disorders are closely related blood clotting disorders, wherein there is a defect in the functioning of platelets, either acquired or congenital, that leads to problems in blood clotting. To understand the various intricacies of these disorders list, one should consult a physician and gain more information on blood disorders. There are many underlying factors that affect this condition adversely, and this is something that one must be informed about and prepared for.