What is heparin?

Question

what does heparin do as a drug taken by a human body:

symptoms

side effects

and other information about this drug, that effects the body in a posotive and negative view.

Answer 1

It's a blood thinner than has an awfully short half life which we exploit in clinical medicine.  Too much can lead to hemorrhage and in some cases to anaphylaxis.

MOA is via activation of antithrombin III.

Answer 2

It is an anticoagulant (blood thinner).

Positive-- stops the formation of, and dissolves, blood clots.

Negative-- it can cause internal hemorrhaging, and a patient can bleed to death.

Answer 3

Heparin is an anticoagulant. It prevents the formation of clots and extension of existing clots within the blood. However, it does not break down clots that have already formed. It is used in cases of atrial fibrillation, deep-vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism. The effects of heparin are measured in the lab by the partial thromboplastin time (aPTT), (the time it takes the blood plasma to clot).

Side effects

A serious side-effect of heparin is heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT syndrome). HITS is caused by an immunological reaction that makes platelets a target of immunological response, resulting in the degradation of platelets. This is what causes thrombocytopenia.

Rarer side-effects include alopecia and osteoporosis with chronic use.

Overdose

Overdoses of heparin can be fatal. In those cases, protamine sulfate can be given to counteract the action of heparin.

Answer 4

HEPARIN acts as an anticoagulant, preventing the formation of clots. Heparin does not break down clots itself, but allows the body's natural clot lysis mechanisms to break down clots that have already formed.

Commonly used when a person has DVT (Deep-Vein Thrombosis); Pulmonary Embolism; etc.

A serious side-effect of heparin is heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT syndrome). HITS is caused by an immunological reaction that makes platelets a target of immunological response. The side-effect is treated by the discontinuation of heparin.

In experimental tests, heparin has been shown to improve symptons in arthiritis and asthma.

Answer 5

heparin is an intravenous blood thinner used in hospitals to prevent blood clotting.  With use of anti-coagulants like heparin patients certainly bleed more easily and bruise more easily

Answer 6

Heparin is an anticoagulant that acts directly, and nearly instantaneously, to slow down the clotting of blood. It is administerted intravenously or subcutaneously; there is no oral form. As crouching doggy mentioned (and I think he is a physician) it has a very short half life, so if given intravenously it must be given continuously to achieve the necessary reduction in clotting time. By slowing down the formation of clots, heparin helps prevent existing clots -- deep vein thromboses (DVT) -- from enlarging, or from forming. Heparin does not dissolve blood clots, contrary to some on this thread. It buys you time while the body reabsorbs any existing blood clots. When given in the event of a DVT, it is intended to prevent a blood clot from enlarging, then breaking off and travelling to the lung -- called a pulmonary embolus, which is often fatal. The complications are related to reduced clotting: bleeding in the gastrointestinal tract, gums, kidney, etc. Its potency or action is highly variable among patients, and so must be monitored frequently with blood tests such as the PTT.