Excessive Blood Clotting or Hypercoagulation Can Be Very Dangerous

Leona is 52 y.o. and smokes. She is also overweight and has atherosclerosis. When she was given a 2-week vacation from work, she flew from Minnesota to Sydney, Australia. Unfortunately, just 3 days after she arrived, she was hospitalized when her left calf became inflamed causing her considerable pain. The physician attending told her she developed DVT.

Hypercoagulation, cause an increased tendency for clotting of the blood. In normal hemostasis (the stoppage of bleeding) clots form at the site of the blood vessel's injury. However, in hypercoagulation clots can develop in circulating blood. This may put a patient at risk for obstruction of veins and arteries (phlebitis, thrombosis) a thrombus is a blood clot that forms in a vessel and remains there. A thrombus can block the flow of blood through a vein or artery. A pathological thrombus forms when there is an imbalance in the blood coagulation system. Homeostasis is necessary for survival, but the pathological formation of a thrombus, poses significant health risks. The coagulation system depends on a delicate balance between: Natural coagulant and anticoagulant factors, the coagulation and fibrinolytic system. An imbalance in these systems can result in pathological coagulation. A deep vein thrombosis can break loose and cause a serious problem in the lung, called a pulmonary embolism. Leona was at risk for thrombus development due to atherosclerosis, smoking, overweight, and prolonged sitting. Being overweight increases the pressure in the veins in your pelvis and legs. Smoking affects blood clotting and circulation, which can increase the risk of DVT. Sitting for long periods of time, such as when flying the legs remain still for long periods, the calf muscles don't contract, which normally helps blood circulate. Blood clots can form in the calves of the legs if the calf muscles aren't moving. Although sitting for long periods is a risk factor, the chance of developing deep vein thrombosis while flying is relatively low. Leona had others risk factors that contribute to developing DVT.

Atherosclerosis is initiated when leucocytes adhere to the endothelium as a result of expression of adhesive proteins. Leucocytes than cross the endothelial barrier and begin to accumulate. Monocytes within the sub-endothelial space subsequently "orchestrate" the development of atherosclerosis through cytokine release. An important role for platelets in atherogenesis, not only as mediators of thrombus formation, but also as inducers of inflammation. Platelets are potent inflammatory cells that induce inflammatory responses in adjacent cells such as leukocytes and endothelial cells. Platelets may also themselves respond to inflammatory mediators produced by these neighboring cells. These platelet-mediated inflammatory pathways contribute to atherogenesis in both the early and late stage of the process. The bidirectional interaction between platelets and other