Thrombosis Treatment

Thrombosis treatment

        The most common thrombosis treatment are heparin and warfarin.

Thrombosis treatment - Heparin

       Heparin is a strong anticoagulant which acts very fast. It is usually administrated through a small needle that is inserted in a vein, but it can also be administrated through an injection under the skin. The heparin act very fast, in a couple of minutes after receiving it. Most people have a good anticoagulation that will prevent further clotting. The patients who are injected with heparin must be kept under supervision every day with a blood test so as to check if it is given the correct dose. Afterwards, the doctor will adjust the heparin dose according to the blood tests.

       The specialist should check level frequently, because heparin levels change in patients. The blood test that is used to check the patient's level of heparin is called the activated partial thromboplastin time. For patients who experience a new clot, heparin is usually given in combination with another anticoagulant that is called warfarin.

       Warfarin is a pilule which patients can administrate from home for a long term anticoagulation. For this pill to have effect it must be taken for 5-7 days or even longer, and so the patients will have to take initially both medicines. Once the warfarin shows its effect, the other medicine, heparin, will be stopped and the patient can be released from the hospital.

Heparin advantages

       Heparin is very cheap and has a fast action, the blood is anticoagulated fast.

Heparin disadvantages

       This thrombosis treatment needs frequent blood tests for checking the levels of the anticoagulation and also needs hospitalization for injecting the drug. The necessary time for hospitalization it is between 5 or 10 days for treating a new clot.

Heparin side effects

       The most worse side effect of this thrombosis treatment is bleeding. There are also others side effects such as: skin rash, headache, cold symptoms and stomach problems. Another side effect, more uncommon is the loss of bone strenght if the patients administrates this treatment for long periods of time. This can be a problem for pregnant women.

       Heparin induced thrombocytopenia is a rare side effect of heparin. 3-5% of the patients on heparin experience this side effect. What is very important to be known is that this side effect has very serious symptoms like worsening of clotting and apparition of new clots, that can result in heart attack, deep vein thrombosis and even death.

Thrombosis treatment - Warfarin

       Warfarin is an anticoagulant pilule that is administrated by mouth. Some people take warfarin for just few weeks, others will need to take warfarin for the rest of their lives. Warfarin shows down the process in the liver and uses vitamin k for making certain proteins which cause clotting. It takes several days for this pilule to show its effect. In this time heparin is still administrated, until the warfarin becomes effective.

       The same as with heparin, the patients who take warfarin need to make blood tests for the doctor to be certain that the drug is working well. Because each laboratory may use different techniques for measuring clotting time, the results may also vary, but a doctor can interpret correctly this test. When a patients starts for the first time to take warfarin, he has to make blood tests two or three time a week.

Warfarin side effects

       The most common side effect of warfarin is bleeding. But there are some other side effects too, like headache, hair loss, rash, purple toe syndrome. You need to speak to your doctor about these side effects, although sometime these side effects go away in time.

       When you are taking warfarin you need to keep a good consistent diet, discuss with your doctor in case you take another drug, you have to take warfarin at the same time every evening, no alcohol.