Posts Tagged ‘Blood thinners’
Athletes and Blood Clots
Can Athletes With DVT or PE Return To Play? Fact-Based Rather Than Emotional Reasoning
Stephan Moll, MD1, Joshua Berkowitz, MD2, Philip Blatt, MD, FACP3
Every so often news hit the media that a prominent athlete has had a blood clot: NBA athlete Chris Bosh and NHL’s Steven Stamkos most recently, NBA’s Mirza Teletović and NHL’s Cody McCormick in 2015, tennis player Serena Williams in 2011 Read the rest of this entry »
Scuba Diving: Can I Dive While Being on a Blood Thinner?
Stephan Moll, MD writes… In general: “Yes”. Many people who take blood thinners are able to safely dive. However, there are a few things to consider for the individual on blood thinners who wants to go scuba diving: Read the rest of this entry »
Being on Blood Thinners: How Do I Know I am Bleeding?
Emily Hawes, UNC School of Pharmacy, writes…
Patients on blood thinners are at increased risk for bleeding. This can be easy to recognize external bleeding (bruising, bleeding from a cut, nosebleeds, etc.) or more occult internal bleeding. Patients need to know how to recognize abnormal bleeding. If any of the below signs of abnormal bleeding occur patients need to respond immediately and contact their physician, to avoid a delay in diagnosis.
These are the signs and symptoms patients should look out for: Read the rest of this entry »
Injection of Blood Thinners under the Skin: Making it Easier – Insuflon Ports
Having to take shots of a blood thinner injected under the skin (subcutaneously = s.c.) once or twice daily for prolonged periods of time can be bothersome and uncomfortable. Use of a once weekly exchanged s.c. port, called Insuflon, can make it easier for a number of patients. Read the rest of this entry »
Pregnancy Loss and Clotting Disorders
How common is pregnancy loss? What are the causes?
Pregnancy loss (= miscarriage) in the general population is common. Most losses occur in the first trimester. As many as 5 % of women have 2 or more early losses; 1-2 % have 3 or more early losses [ref 1]. Well established risk factors for pregnancy loss are: (a) advanced age of the mother, (b) anatomic abnormalities of the uterus (such as fibroids), (c) chromosome abnormalities of fetus, the mother or the father, (d) underlying diseases of the mother (endocrine, immunologic), (e) maternal hormonal unbalances. The acquired clotting disorder called “antiphospholipid antibody syndrome” is also a risk factor for pregnancy loss. The role of inherited clotting disorders (= thrombophilias) contributing to pregnancy loss is less clear. Read the rest of this entry »
Incidentally Discovered Blood Clots
General comments
CT scans and MRI scans are often done in medicine, for a variety of reasons. Every so often such a scan will detect a blood clot in a patient who has no symptoms from the clot. This is referred to as an “incidental VTE” (VTE = venous thromboembolism, i.e. clot in a vein) or “asymptomatic VTE”. Such a clot may be a DVT in the pelvis or leg, in the major abdominal vein (vena cava), or in one of the intestinal veins (portal vein, splenic vein, mesenteric vein, or renal vein). When such an incidental, asymptomatic VTE is discovered, the question arises whether the patient should be treated with “blood thinners” or not. Read the rest of this entry »