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Hypercoagulable Disorders

What is it? | Activation problems | Regulation problems | Breakdown problems | Other factors | Laboratory tests | Treatments | Related Pages |

Other factors associated with an increased risk of inappropriate blood clot formation:

  • Venous stasis describes any situation that immobilizes someone for long periods of time, such as prolonged bed rest with an illness or after surgery. Immobility may lead to slow or restricted blood flow (venous stasis) and an increased risk of developing a blood clot especially in the deep veins of the legs (DVT). This can also occur in people travelling on long journeys while immobilised in aeroplanes and coaches (typically more than 4 hours with the knees bent).
  • Elevated levels of homocysteine slightly increase the risk of a heart attack.
  • Heart Failure - may cause slowing of blood flow (stasis)
  • Obesity
  • Pregnancy, combined oral contraceptives (“the pill”) and hormone replacement therapy
  • Surgery - allows the exposure of blood to tissue factor
  • Atrial fibrillation (rapid, uneven heartbeat) - associated with an increase risk of stroke
  • Cancer – Cancers or malignancies such as leukaemia may cause hypercoagulable states for a variety of reasons. 1 Tumour growth may cause external compression on a blood vessel, or, in some cases, actually extend into the vasculature (for example, renal cell cancers extending into the renal veins). 2 Cancers are often associated with inflammation and immobility. 3 Some cancers release substances which initiate clotting. 4). Treatments for cancer (radiation, chemotherapy) may leave patients more susceptible to hypercoagulation.

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