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I'm really confused with the whole concept of blood clotting time!

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So basically, in question 1 b ii) it says
Suggest why heparin, at higher concentrations, can be used to treat patients who are at risk of forming blood clots?

In the mark scheme it says clotting is slower but you can accept clotting time is increased / longer.


But that doesn't make any sense! From the table above you could see that as the conc of heparin increases the clotting time also increases, which is a bad thing I guess. So shouldn't the clotting time be quicker ?
Original post by FluffyCherry
image.png

So basically, in question 1 b ii) it says
Suggest why heparin, at higher concentrations, can be used to treat patients who are at risk of forming blood clots?

In the mark scheme it says clotting is slower but you can accept clotting time is increased / longer.


But that doesn't make any sense! From the table above you could see that as the conc of heparin increases the clotting time also increases, which is a bad thing I guess. So shouldn't the clotting time be quicker ?


Heparin is a blood THINNER - meaning it actually takes longer to fully clot.

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Original post by That Bearded Man
Heparin is a blood THINNER - meaning it actually takes longer to fully clot.

Posted from TSR Mobile


But I'm still confused why would you want to give your patients heparin if it's going to cause an increase in blood clotting time. When heparin is not given the blood clotting time is a lot quicker. So what was the point of that?
Original post by FluffyCherry
But I'm still confused why would you want to give your patients heparin if it's going to cause an increase in blood clotting time. When heparin is not given the blood clotting time is a lot quicker. So what was the point of that?


Because blood clots, particularly post op, are extremely concerning. Clots in various arteries can cause ischaemia, so, for instance, after surgery, blood is at a greater risk of clotting ,(which would be problematic) by thinning the blood, at least you reduce the risk of dangerous clots.

Posted from TSR Mobile
Some people are more likely to suffer from thrombosis, due to upregulated clotting or atherosclerosis etc., so that stuff comes in handy to reduce risk.
Reply 5
Original post by FluffyCherry
image.png

So basically, in question 1 b ii) it says
Suggest why heparin, at higher concentrations, can be used to treat patients who are at risk of forming blood clots?

In the mark scheme it says clotting is slower but you can accept clotting time is increased / longer.


But that doesn't make any sense! From the table above you could see that as the conc of heparin increases the clotting time also increases, which is a bad thing I guess. So shouldn't the clotting time be quicker ?


You've read the information wrong I think?
The information in the table shows that as concentration of heparin increases, the clotting time increases. This means that the more heparin the person is given, the longer it takes for their blood to clot. Therefore people at a high risk of a blood clot forming in their blood vessels or organs are treated with heparin so that the clotting isn't quick enough to form an actual blood clot big enough to cause blockages.

However as for the next question, since clotting time is longer which the patient is on heparin, they could encounter the same problems as someone with haemophilia - they will bleed for longer as their blood doesn't clot quickly enough. If they were to hurt themselves, and if the damage is serious enough, they're more likely to bleed out quicker than a person who isn't on heparin.
Original post by That Bearded Man
Because blood clots, particularly post op, are extremely concerning. Clots in various arteries can cause ischaemia, so, for instance, after surgery, blood is at a greater risk of clotting ,(which would be problematic) by thinning the blood, at least you reduce the risk of dangerous clots.

Posted from TSR Mobile


Original post by hellodave5
Some people are more likely to suffer from thrombosis, due to upregulated clotting or atherosclerosis etc., so that stuff comes in handy to reduce risk.


Original post by RonnieRJ
You've read the information wrong I think?

The information in the table shows that as concentration of heparin increases, the clotting time increases. This means that the more heparin the person is given, the longer it takes for their blood to clot. Therefore people at a high risk of a blood clot forming in their blood vessels or organs are treated with heparin so that the clotting isn't quick enough to form an actual blood clot big enough to cause blockages.

However as for the next question, since clotting time is longer which the patient is on heparin, they could encounter the same problems as someone with haemophilia - they will bleed for longer as their blood doesn't clot quickly enough. If they were to hurt themselves, and if the damage is serious enough, they're more likely to bleed out quicker than a person who isn't on heparin.


Okay, great! thanx everyone !!:h:
Original post by FluffyCherry
But I'm still confused why would you want to give your patients heparin if it's going to cause an increase in blood clotting time. When heparin is not given the blood clotting time is a lot quicker. So what was the point of that?


So if your patient was bleeding you would not want to give heparin. In fact, you might consider reversing it.

But if your patient is forming blood clots where they shouldn't be, for example in the lungs or leg, then you would do.

Clotting is a balance between being sufficiently unstable that you clot quickly to an injury, and being sufficiently stable that it doesn't happen where it shouldn't. Modern humans are arguably too far on the 'unstable' side - dying from major bleeding is pretty rare whilst dying from clots definitely isn't.

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