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Blood Clots: How Does Blood Clot?

Blood clots form through complex interactions between platelets, clotting factors, and vessel walls. Platelets initiate clotting by forming a plug at the site of injury. Chemical reactions then grow the clot through fibrin formation. Anti-clotting processes regulate clot growth to prevent issues. The body slowly breaks down clots over time as healing occurs. Blood clots can form normally during injury to stop bleeding or abnormally in conditions like heart attacks and strokes when thrombogenic substances contact blood in damaged arteries. Medical issues and medications can impact clotting by increasing or decreasing clot formation.

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Pebrian Diki Prestya
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163 views2 pages

Blood Clots: How Does Blood Clot?

Blood clots form through complex interactions between platelets, clotting factors, and vessel walls. Platelets initiate clotting by forming a plug at the site of injury. Chemical reactions then grow the clot through fibrin formation. Anti-clotting processes regulate clot growth to prevent issues. The body slowly breaks down clots over time as healing occurs. Blood clots can form normally during injury to stop bleeding or abnormally in conditions like heart attacks and strokes when thrombogenic substances contact blood in damaged arteries. Medical issues and medications can impact clotting by increasing or decreasing clot formation.

Uploaded by

Pebrian Diki Prestya
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Blood Clots

Blood clots are healthy and lifesaving when they stop bleeding. However, blood clots can also form abnormally, causing a heart attack, stroke, or other serious medical problem.

How Does Blood Clot?


Blood has a seemingly impossible job: it must flow continuously and smoothly for an entire lifetime, but quickly form a blood clot when bleeding occurs. Blood achieves this through complex interactions between substances in blood and the blood vessel walls. The major parts of blood clot formation are: 1. The platelet plug forms. Platelets are tiny components in blood that initiate blood clots. Platelets become stimulated when they encounter a damaged blood vessel, and flock to the site. The platelets clump together and form a plug, which reduces bleeding. Platelets also release substances that start the chemical reaction of blood clot formation. 2. Chemical reactions grow the blood clot. Blood contains dissolved proteins, also called clotting factors, which promote blood clots. (Most of the proteins have Roman numerals for names, including factors V, VII, VIII, IX, X, and XI). These signal to and amplify each others activity in massive numbers at the site of bleeding. This results in a rapid chemical chain reaction whose end product is fibrin, the main protein forming blood clots. A fibrinformed blood clot is much tougher and more durable than the platelet plug. 3. Anti-clotting processes halt the blood clots growth. Once formed, the blood clot must be prevented from growing and spreading through the body, where it could cause damage. Numerous anti-clotting proteins (antithrombin, protein C, protein S, and others) exist in a natural balance with clotting factors. The anti-clotting enzymes neutralize excess clotting factors, preventing them from extending the blood clot farther than it should go. 4. The body slowly breaks down the blood clot. As the damaged tissue heals, the body slowly degrades the blood clot and reabsorbs it. An enzyme called plasmin is responsible for dissolving the tough fibrin strands in a blood clot. Various other substances act together to activate plasmin and help it break down the blood clot.

What Causes Blood Clots?


The process of blood clotting is triggered whenever flowing blood is exposed to certain substances. There are many different such substances, which are called thrombogenic because they promote formation of thrombus (another name for a clot). Many thrombogenic substances are located in the skin or in blood vessel walls. Normally safely separated from flowing blood, their contact with blood usually means the blood vessel wall is ruptured and bleeding. Examples of these thrombogenic substances are tissue factor, collagen, and von Willebrand factor. Blood clots are essential to stop bleeding after injury, but harmful blood clots can also form, causing serious damage. Most heart attacks and strokes result from the sudden formation of a blood clot on a cholesterol plaque inside an artery in the heart or brain. When

the plaque ruptures suddenly, thrombogenic substances inside the plaque are exposed to blood, triggering the blood clotting process. Blood clots may also form when blood fails to flow properly. Atrial fibrillation is an abnormal heart rhythm in which blood pools in the heart, potentially forming blood clots. If a blood clot dislodges and travels to the brain, it can cause a stroke. Prolonged immobilization can reduce blood flow in the legs, increasing the risk for blood clots in leg veins (deep venous thrombosis, or DVT).

Alterations to the Blood Clotting Process


Medical conditions and medicines can alter the process of blood clot formation, making blood clots more or less likely. Some examples include: Aspirin, Brilinta, Effient, and clopidogrel (Plavix). Drugs that interfere with platelet function, making blood clots less likely. Warfarin (Coumadin). An oral drug that reduces production of clotting factors, reducing blood clotting. Heparin. An intravenous or injectable drug that interferes with thrombin, preventing blood clot formation. Tissue plasminogen activator (tPA). A clot-dissolving medicine that activates plasmin, and is occasionally given as a treatment for heart attack or stroke. Hypercoagulable state. An improper balance between clotting factors and clot-reducing substances that results in increased likelihood of abnormal blood clots. Hemophilia. A genetic deficiency of certain functioning clotting factors results in poor blood clotting and excessive bleeding. von Willebrand factor deficiency. A relatively common condition resulting in slow blood clot formation, which is usually mild.

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