Jornal de Hematologia e Doenças Tromboembólicas
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Anticoagulants

Prasanna Kattekola

Anticoagulants are medicines that prevent the blood from clotting as quickly or as effectively as normal. Some people call anticoagulants blood thinners. However, the blood isn't actually made any thinner - it just doesn't clot so easily whilst you're taking an anticoagulant. Anticoagulants are wont to treat and stop blood clots which will occur in your blood vessels. Blood clots can block blood vessels (an artery or a vein). A blocked artery stops blood and oxygen from going to a neighbourhood of your body (for example, to a neighbourhood of the guts, brain or lungs). The tissue supplied by a blocked artery becomes damaged or dies, and this leads to serious problems like a stroke or attack . A blood clot in a large vein, such as a clot in a leg vein - a deep vein thrombosis (DVT), can lead to serious problems. For example, it can lead to a clot that travels from a leg vein to the lungs (a pulmonary embolism). Anticoagulants are used to prevent blood clots as well - the most common condition for this is atrial fibrillation (AF).