Thrombosis Flashcards
What is thrombosis?
Formation of blood clot inside a vessel that blocks the blood circulation
What can result of thrombosis be?
Causes ischaemia (tissue death), malfunction, pain or swelling in the organ/tissue
Is thrombosis in arteries and vein different or similar?
Different
What does arterial thrombosis lead to?
Physical damage in arterial wall
What disorders can arterial thrombosis lead to?
- Myocardial infarction
- Atrial fibrillation
- Peripheral vascular disease (leg)
- Stroke
What does venous thrombosis lead to?
Pooling and ineffective movement of blood
What disorders can venous thrombosis lead to?
- DVT
- Pulmonary embolism
What is Virchow’s Triad?
Describes the three broad categories of factors that are thought to contribute to thrombosis
- Hypercoagulability
- Hemodynamic changes (stasis, turbulence)
- Endothelial injury/dysfunction
What is arterial thrombosis caused by?
Atherosclerosis
Rupture of plaque drives formation of thombus
What is atherosclerosis?
Deposition of lipids in form of lipoproteins forming atherosclerotic plaque inside ARTERIES
How does an atherosclerotic plaque affect vessel wall?
Inflammation of vessel wall with infiltration of macrophages and fat deposition
What does the rupture of an atherosclerotic plaque lead to?
Drives formation of thrombus due to exposure of collagen etc
Leads to overactive element of platelet element and uncontrolled platelet activation (thrombus is platelet rich)
Describe the phases of thrombotic response to plaque rupture
- Plaque fissure or rupture
- Adhesion and activation of platelets
- Activation of coagulation cascade
This is normal clotting response but gone wrong as happening in wrong place at wrong time.
What are the risk factors for arterial thrombosis?
- Advanced age
- Smoking
- Diabetes
- Hypertension
- Cholesterol
- Poor diet
- Lack of exercise
- Ethnicity
What are the 2 types of arterial thrombi?
Mural thrombi and occlusive thrombi
What is the key driver of both mural and occlusive thrombi?
Uncontrolled platelet activation
What is mural thorombi?
Little thrombus formed on top of atherosclerotic plaque. Doesn’t obstruct vessel
What does mural thrombi lead to?
Unstable angina and transient ischaemic attacks. Chest pain but not fatal
What is occlusive thrombi?
Thrombus forms and completely blocks vessel
What does occlusive thrombi lead to?
MI and cerebral infarction
What are the prothrombotic factors?
ADP Adrenaline Collagen Fibrinogen Thrombin Thromboxane A2 Von Willebrand Factor
What are the antithrombotic factors?
Adenosine
Nitric oxide
Prostacyclin (PGI2)
What is required to maintain effective haemostasis?
A balance between prothrombotic and antithrombotic factors
Thrombosis is due to a hyper-thrombotic response (i.e. prothrombotic factors override antithrombotic factors)
Where is ADP released from?
Platelet dense granules