**_🫀🫁Cardio & Resp🫀🫁 - Haemostasis Flashcards
What is haemostasis?
The cellular and biochemical processes that enables both the specific and regulated cessation of bleeding in response to vascular insult
What is haemostasis for?
Prevention of blood loss from intact vessels
Arrest bleeding from injured vessels
Enable tissue repair
What are the stages of haemostasis?
Immediate response to injury
Primary haemostasis
Secondary haemostasis
Fibrinolysis
What happens immediately after injury to the endothelia cell lining?
Vessel constriction
Vascular smooth muscle cells contract locally
Limits blood flow to injured vessel
What occurs during primary haemostasis?
Formation of an unstable platelet plug
platelet adhesion
platelet aggregation
Limits blood loss + provides surface for coagulation
What occurs during secondary haemostasis?
Stabilisation of the plug with fibrin
Blood coagulation
Stops blood loss
What is the process of fibrinolysis?
Vessel repair and dissolution of clot
Cell migration/proliferation & fibrinolysis
Restores vessel integrity
Why do we need to understand haemostatic mechanisms?
Diagnose and treat bleeding disorders
Control bleeding in individuals who do not have an underlying bleeding disorder
Identify risk factors for thrombosis
Treat thrombotic disorders
Monitor the drugs that are used to treat bleeding and thrombotic disorders
Describe the balance that exists in haemostasis
How can the haemostatic balance be tipped towards bleeding?
Increase in fibrinolytic factors/anticoagulant proteins
Decrease in coagulant factors/platelets
How can the levels of a coagulant factor(s) decrease?
Lack of a specific factor
-Failure of production: congenital and acquired
-Increased consumption/clearance
Defective function of a specific factor
-Genetic
-Acquired: drugs, synthetic defect, inhibition
How do platelets undergo adhesion?
EITHER
VWF binds to collagen, platelet binds to VWF via Glp1b
OR
Platelet adheres to underlying collagen directly via Glp1a
What occurs after platelet adhesion?
Release of ADP and thromboxane A2 by activated platelets
ADP activates nearby platelets, increasing expression of GPIIb/IIIa
Thromboxane A2 promotes vasoconstriction, activating platelets and encouraging adherence to each other
What is the mechanism of platelet aggregation?
Platelets bound to collagen via VWF
Fibrinogen with a Ca2+ binds to GPIIb/IIIa of the platelet, and that of another platelet
Forms a chain of bound platelets
Forms a clot
What is the term for a low number of platelets?
Thrombocytopenia
What are the causes of thrombocytopenia?
Bone marrow failure
e.g. leukaemia, B12 deficiency
Accelerated clearance
e.g. immune (ITP), disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC)
Impaired function
-Hereditary absence of glycoproteins or storage granules (rare)
-Acquired due to drugs: aspirin, NSAIDs, clopidogrel (common)
What is (auto-)ITP?
Auto-immune thrombocytopenic purpura
What is ITP?
Autoimmune destruction of platelets
Antiplatelet autoantibodies bind to a sensitised platelet - then phagocytosed by a macrophage
What are the main hereditary platelet defects?
What is the use of antiplatelet therapy?
Widely used in the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease
What is the mechanism of action of antiplatelet therapy?
Aspirin and clopidogrel used
Thromboxane A2 is produced in a series of reactions from Arachidonic acid
Aspirin irreversibly blocks cyclo-oxygenase, responsible for converting arachidonic acid to cycle endoperoxides
Clopidogrel irreversibly blocks the ADP receptor on platelets
What is the other most common category of disorders that effects primary haemostasis, other than platelet disorders or vessel wall disorders?
Von Willebrand factor disorders
Von Willebrand disease - hereditary decrease of quantity +/- function, acquired due to antibody (rare)
Briefly outline Von Willebrand disease
VWF has two functions in haemostasis
-Binding to collagen and capturing platelets
-Stabilising Factor VIII
(Factor VIII may be low if VWF is very low)
VWD is usually hereditary (autosomal inheritance pattern)
-Deficiency of VWF (Type 1 or 3)
-VWF with abnormal function (Type 2)
Briefly outline the disorders of primary haemostasis
Platelets
-Thrombocytopenia
-Drugs
Von Willebrand Factor
-Von Willebrand disease
The vessel wall
-Hereditary vascular disorders
-Steroids, age, vasculitis, scurvy
What disorders effect the vessel wall in primary haemostasis?
Inherited (rare):
-Hereditary haemorrhagic telangiectasia
-Ehlers-Danlos syndrome and other connective tissue disorders
Acquired (common):
-Steroid therapy
-Ageing (‘senile’ purpura)
-Vasculitis
-Scurvy (Vitamin C deficiency)
What are the classic signs of primary haemostasis bleeding?
Immediate
Prolonged bleeding from cuts
Nose bleeds (epistaxis):prolonged > 20 mins
Gum bleeding: prolonged
Heavy menstrual bleeding (menorrhagia)
Bruising (ecchymosis), may be spontaneous/easy
Prolonged bleeding after trauma or surgery
What is the characteristic feature of thrombocytopenia?
Petechiae
What are purpura a sign of?
Platelet (thrombocytopenic purpura) or vascular disorders
What is seen in sever VWD?
Haemophilia-like bleeding (due to low FVIII)
What is there difference between petechiae and purpura?
What are the investigations for disorders of primary haemostasis?
Platelet count, platelet morphology
Bleeding time (PFA100 in lab)
Assays of von Willebrand Factor
Clinical observation
Note –coagulation screen (PT, APTT) is normal (except more severe VWD cases where FVIII is low)
What are the principles for treating primary haemostasis due to failure of production/function?
Replace missing factor/platelets e.g. VWF containing concentrates
i) Prophylactic
ii) Therapeutic
Stop drugs e.g. aspirin/NSAIDs
What are the principles for treating primary haemostasis due to immune destruction?
Immunosuppression (e.g. prednisolone)
Splenectomy for ITP
What are the principles for treating primary haemostasis due to increased consumption?
Treat cause
Replace as necessary
List some additional haemostatic treatments
Desmopressin (DDAVP)
-Vasopressin analogue
-2-5 fold increase in VWF (and FVIII)
-releases endogenous stores (so only useful in mild disorders)
Tranexamic acid - antifibrinolytic
Fibrin glue/spray
Other approaches e.g hormonal (oral contraceptive pill for menorrhagia)
What is the primary objective of the coagulation cascade?
To generate thrombin (IIa), which converts fibrinogen to fibrin
Deficiency of any coagulation factor results in a failure of thrombin generation and hence fibrin formation