ABSTRACT
Abnormal blood clotting disorders (hypercoagulable states) are the leading causes of mortality and morbidity in many of developing and developed countries. Hypercoagulable states can be described as a group of inherited or acquired conditions associated with a predisposition to venous thrombosis (including upper and lower extremity deep venous thrombosis with or without pulmonary embolism, cerebral venous thrombosis, and intra-abdominal venous thrombosis), arterial thrombosis (including myocardial infarction, stroke, acute limb ischemia, and splanchnic ischemia), or both. In past decades, researcher tried to understand about the etiology of thrombosis and its risks. It has been found that people with several thrombosis associated risks never reported thrombosis in their life and the phenomena is enigmatic. Recent investigations are trying to find out this mystery, but challenging due to the complex phenomena of clotting and bleeding. The most effective itinerary for the blood clot management is prevention. For high-risk patients, mainstream prophylaxis against thrombosis and its complications often includes powerful anti-clotting medications. These require careful monitoring and inconvenient dietary restrictions. Conventional medications used to prevent blood clots, such as warfarin, increase the potential for serious bleeding as well as the risk of mortality from traumatic injuries. 254Next-generation anticoagulant medications that overcome these vascular and skeletal risks are emerging, yet they still lack high-quality evidence from clinical trials to solidify them as first-line treatments. This chapter deals with the recent advances in understanding the pathophysiologic basis of the hypercoagulable states and presents a systematic clinical approach to thrombosis.
