Blood clotting disorders are problems in the body’s ability to control how the blood clots.
Normally, blood clots form during an injury to prevent bleeding.
If you have a clotting disorder, your blood may not clot enough, which can lead to too much bleeding, or your blood may form clots even without an injury.
You can read about conditions that happen when your blood does not clot enough in our Bleeding Disorders health topic below.
This topic focuses on clotting disorders that happen when your blood clots more often than it should.
Blood clotting disorders are sometimes called coagulation disorders or thrombophilias.
They are either inherited (meaning that you are born with the condition) or acquired (meaning you develop the condition as the result of another illness or injury).
For example, antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) and disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) are types of acquired blood clotting disorders.
Blood clots can cause many health problems. Symptoms of blood clots depend on where in the body they form. Typically, they will form in the veins and appear in the legs or lungs.
Blood clots in the legs can cause deep vein thrombosis. Blood clots in the lungs can cause a pulmonary embolism. It is rare for blood clots to form in the arteries. When they do, they can lead to heart attack or stroke.
If you think you may have a blood clotting disorder, your doctor will ask about your family and medical history. They may also run tests to be sure of the diagnosis.
If you have a blood clotting disorder, you may need medicine to stop the blood from clotting. Your doctor may also talk to you about ways to prevent blood clots and to stay healthy.
What are bleeding disorders?
Bleeding disorders are rare disorders affecting the way the body controls blood clotting.
If your blood does not clot normally, you may experience problems with bleeding too much after an injury or surgery.
This health topic will focus on bleeding disorders that are caused by problems with clotting factors, including hemophilia and von Willebrand disease.
Clotting factors, also called coagulation factors, are proteins in the blood that work with small cells, called platelets, to form blood clots.
Any problem that affects the function or number of clotting factors or platelets can lead to a bleeding disorder.
A bleeding disorder can be inherited, meaning that you are born with the disorder, or it can be acquired, meaning it develops during your life.
Symptoms can include easy bruising, heavy menstrual periods, and nosebleeds that happen often. Your doctor will review your symptoms, risk factors, medical history, and blood test results to diagnose a bleeding disorder.
Your doctor may recommend medicines or clotting factor replacement therapy to treat the bleeding disorder. Some bleeding disorders are lifelong conditions, and some can lead to complications.
Even if you do not need medicine to treat the bleeding disorder, your doctor may recommend taking precautions before a medical procedure or during a pregnancy to prevent bleeding problems in the future.
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If you care about blood clots, please read studies that people with these blood types have higher risk of blood clots, and Blood clots: 5 reasons they may happen.
For more information about blood health, please see recent studies about a new way to predict blood clots, organ failure in COVID-19, and results showing new findings may help treat blood clots in COVID-19
Source: National Heart Lung Blood Institute.
