The ‘most effective’ treatment for coronavirus-induced blood clots may have been found
AstraZeneca: MHRA lists possible symptoms of blood clots
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Researchers have made two key findings when it comes to the treatment of Covid-induced blood clots. Even patients with a moderate case of coronavirus can develop clots. And the medical researchers also claim to have found “the most effective way” to address blood clots caused by the virus.
The Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research discovered that Covid patients with elevated blood levels of a protein known as d-dimer are especially at high risk from clotting.
D-dimer is a degradation product of fibrin, often measured to assess clot formation.
Polymerised fibrin combined with tiny cells and other debris forms a clot.
During the coronavirus pandemic, d-dimer has been associated with disease severity and mortality.
The new study says that treating patients with elevated d-dimer levels with a high dose of a blood thinner called low-molecular weight heparin can significantly reduce the likelihood of blood clots and further risks.
The blood-thinning medication is available worldwide.
The research describes it as “a cost-effective way to prevent clots and spare lives”.
The findings are expected to affect the way doctors treat and diagnose Covid patients with blood clots.
The study called HEP-COVID looked at 253 hospitalised Covid patients with d-dimer levels more than four times the normal limit.
The patients were studied for one year across 12 academic centres in the US.
For people treated with low-molecular-weight heparin, thromboembolism and death was 28.7 percent, compared to 41.9 percent in patients treated with other medication.
Thromboembolism describes a blood clot formed in a blood vessel that broke loose and got carried by the bloodstream to another blood vessel.
As blood clots can be very serious, get advice from 111 immediately if you think you have one.
Symptoms of blood clots are:
- Throbbing or cramping pain, swelling, redness and warmth in a leg or arm
- Sudden breathlessness
- Sharp chest pain (may be worse when you breathe in)
- Cough or coughing up blood.
The NHS warns blood clots can be life threatening if not treated quickly.
In case you’re struggling to breathe or someone has passed out, it’s necessary to call 999 or go to A&E.
Symptoms like these could signal a clot in the lungs that requires immediate treatment.
There are various things you can do to help prevent blood clots including drinking lots of water and staying active.
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