anticoagulant

Examples of anticoagulant in the following topics:

• Anticoagulants

  • An anticoagulant is a substance that prevents coagulation (clotting) of blood.
  • Coumadins such as warfarin are oral anticoagulant pharmaceuticals that antagonize the effects of vitamin K1.
  • It takes at least 48 to 72 hours for the anticoagulant effect to develop.
  • Oral anticoagulants are used widely as poisons for mammalian pests, especially rodents.
  • Another type of anticoagulant is the direct thrombin inhibitor.

• Blood Plasma

  • Normally, anticoagulants and fibrinolytics in the plasma, such as plasmin and heparin, break up fibrin clots and inactivate thrombin.
  • However, during endothelial injury, damaged cells will release tissue factor, another type of clotting factor that causes a cascade of thrombin production that will overpower the anticoagulants and cause a clotting response.
  • Two tubes of EDTA-anticoagulated blood.

• Fibrinolysis

  • Clots may also be prevented or kept from worsening through the use of blood thinners (anticoagulants).
  • Aspirin has anticoagulant properties because it inhibits cyoclo-oxygenase dependent pathways of platelet activation, which can prevent clotting from worsening.
  • Heparin is a fast-acting anticoagulant produced by the body and used as a drug which inhibits the activity of thrombin.

• Role of Vitamin K

  • Vitamin K also synthesizes Protein C, Protein S, and Protein Z, anticoagulant proteins that degrade specific coagulation factors, preventing excessive thrombosis following the initial coagulation cascade.
  • Vitamin K can be inhibited by the anticoagulant drug warfarin, which acts as an antagonist for vitamin K.
  • Calcium is also required to to synthesize the anticoagulant Protein C (along with vitamin K).

• Coagulation

  • It also activates more factor V, which later acts as an anticoagulant with inhibitor protein C, and factor XIII, which covalently bonds to fibrin to strengthen its attachment to the platelets.
  • Many anticoagulants prevent unnecessary coagulation, and those that genetically lack the ability to produce these molecules will be more susceptible to coagulation.

• Complete Blood Count

  • A phlebotomist collects the sample, drawing the blood into a test tube containing an anticoagulant (EDTA, sometimes citrate) to stop it from clotting.

• Withdrawing Blood

  • The purple tube contains EDTA, an anticoagulant, and is typically used for a complete blood count.

• Heart Valve Disorders

  • In individuals who require an artificial heart valve, consideration must be made for deterioration of the valve over time (for bioprosthetic valves) versus the risks of anticoagulation during pregnancy.

• West Nile Virus

  • The mosquito injects saliva which contains an anesthetic, and an anticoagulant into the puncture wound; and in infected mosquitoes, the West Nile virus.

• Physical Characteristics and Volume

  • Two tubes of EDTA-anticoagulated blood.