In times of internal or external injury, the body needs to immediately make a blood clot to stop bleeding. For this purpose, blood coagulation--which is a cascade of biochemical reactions--gets triggered as soon as blood comes in contact with a tissue. To coagulate, our blood requires fully functional proteins (called clotting factors) as well as healthy platelets. Sometimes, due to genetic or acquired reasons, one of these proteins may become deficient or dysfunctional, leading to an inefficiency (or inability) in forming a clot when it is needed. This condition is called Coagulopathy or a Bleeding Disorder.
Hemophilia A and B
Activated forms of factors VIII and IX are needed to derive sufficient amounts of factor Xa on the surface of a platelet and form a clot. While Hemophilia A occurs due to the deficiency of factor VIII, Hemophilia B occurs because of factor IX deficiency. The presence of this inherited disease does not mean that the specific clotting factor is totally absent; it is usually present in the blood at reduced levels. This slows down the clotting process, and the patient of hemophilia may experience joint swelling, pain and stiffness due to internal bleeding.
Clotting Factor Deficiency
Though rare, the deficiency of other clotting factors--including fibrinogen, II, V, VII or X--is possible and leads to problems in the coagulation mechanism that are similar to those in hemophilia. As expected, these patients need special care during trauma or surgery.
von Willebrand disease (vWD)
Platelets provide a reaction surface for clotting factors. The von Willebrand factor (vWF) helps platelets adhere to the blood vessel wall at a site of injury. When vWF is dysfunctional (or its levels are low), clotting is again delayed due to a reduced platelet concentration at the desired location.
Platelet deficiency
The deficiency of platelets is known as thrombocytopenia, and it can occur when the bone marrow produces lower levels of platelets. This can lead to hemorrhages in the skin and other serious complications.
Vitamin deficiency
Vitamin K is needed in the synthesis of many . Therefore, if our supply of vitamin K in the body becomes inadequate due to its faulty absorption in the intestine, many coagulation factors may to cause internal bleeding.
Anticoagulant Therapy
Anticoagulant therapy is prescribed in thrombosis for either treatment or its prevention. Because anticoagulant drugs--such as warfarin or low molecular weight heparin--specifically block the , their presence in the blood can cause coagulopathy. The concurrent administration of a blood thinner like aspirin, which partially blocks platelet aggregation, can increase the risk.
Tags: clotting factors, become deficient, clotting process, Hemophilia occurs, internal bleeding