Blood clots

Blood clots are healthy and lifesaving when they stop bleeding. However, bloodclots can also form abnormally, causing a heart attackstroke, 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 other’s 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 fibrin-formed blood clot is much tougher and more durable than the platelet plug.

3. Anti-clotting processes halt the blood clot’s 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.

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