Question #15: Explain how Warfarin, a popular drug used to treat atrial fibrillation, causes disruptions in human fetal development.
Blood clots can form in the body and either be a hindrance or a help. Those that help the body, stop bleeding, so that an excess of blood is not lost all at one time. The blood clots that act as a hindrance to the body can lead to heart attacks, strokes and at times pulmonary embolisms. Warfarin (C19H16O4) is a prescription medication that is used to prevent the harmful blood clots within the body. It works by decreasing the body’s ability to form blood clots through its halting of the formation of vitamin K–dependent clotting factors. Vitamin K is crucial in the formation of clotting factors and aids in the prevention of bleeding (1). When one takes this medication that is used specifically to block the clotting factors within the body, their body has the capability to stop the harmful clots from forming …show more content…
These medicines have been proven to diffuse through the placenta and into the bloodstream of the embryo. This can cause issues with both maternal and fetal bleeding (4). These results have been linked to Thromboembolism. This is when a clot forms in a blood vessel and is then carried off in the blood stream to another location where it could potentially plug that vessel. Thromboembolism has become a major cause of maternal death and warfarin is a proven medication for this disease, however the risks are so great for the developing fetus, that mothers are forced to resort to heparin, a non-vitamin K dependent anticoagulant (5). Because it is such a severe issue and affects people differently, the treatments are not a guaranteed cure. Warfarin does aid with the issue, but it offers fluctuation in coagulation. The blood can do one of two things, insufficient or excessive anticoagulation (6). This is the underlying cause for many of the maternal deaths mentioned
Blood clots can form in the body and either be a hindrance or a help. Those that help the body, stop bleeding, so that an excess of blood is not lost all at one time. The blood clots that act as a hindrance to the body can lead to heart attacks, strokes and at times pulmonary embolisms. Warfarin (C19H16O4) is a prescription medication that is used to prevent the harmful blood clots within the body. It works by decreasing the body’s ability to form blood clots through its halting of the formation of vitamin K–dependent clotting factors. Vitamin K is crucial in the formation of clotting factors and aids in the prevention of bleeding (1). When one takes this medication that is used specifically to block the clotting factors within the body, their body has the capability to stop the harmful clots from forming …show more content…
These medicines have been proven to diffuse through the placenta and into the bloodstream of the embryo. This can cause issues with both maternal and fetal bleeding (4). These results have been linked to Thromboembolism. This is when a clot forms in a blood vessel and is then carried off in the blood stream to another location where it could potentially plug that vessel. Thromboembolism has become a major cause of maternal death and warfarin is a proven medication for this disease, however the risks are so great for the developing fetus, that mothers are forced to resort to heparin, a non-vitamin K dependent anticoagulant (5). Because it is such a severe issue and affects people differently, the treatments are not a guaranteed cure. Warfarin does aid with the issue, but it offers fluctuation in coagulation. The blood can do one of two things, insufficient or excessive anticoagulation (6). This is the underlying cause for many of the maternal deaths mentioned