Heparin, along with Warfarin (known as Coumadin), is the main anti blood clotting medications that are used by physicians, particularly in hospitals during or after surgery, or for patients that are at risk for blood clotting. Heparin is actually a naturally occurring substance created in the liver. However, the liver does not necessary create enough that your body needs in certain situations, or your liver may become damaged or unable to properly create heparin. The medication/drug named Heparin is a powerful synthetic version of what is produced from your liver.
Thus, Heparin is an anticoagulant which means it is a blood thinner that helps prevent blood clots from forming in your body. This includes blood clots in your blood vessels, particularly in the legs, and places like your lungs or brain. Warfarin is similarly used to treat blood clots, and is more commonly used for venous thrombosis (blood clots and swelling in veins) such as the common conditions of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) or pulmonary embolisms.
While Heparin is generally safe when used right, sometimes it is not always properly used which can lead to serious personal injury and wrongful death. This is because Heparin and Warfarin are used anticoagulants meaning the prevent the blood from clotting. But if you fall and hit your head or cut your arm, your body may not be able to stop the bleeding on its own. This is particularly dangerous for a brain bleed, which is in a closed system with the spinal cord, and any blood entering that system will increase pressure which will increase damage on the vital organs.
When a patient is on enough Heparin, any injury—even a bump of the elbow against a fall or a scratch on the hand—may not stop bleeding. What becomes more serious is when a patient is more seriously injured, like in a car accident, and cannot stop bleeding.
Heparin is used to prevent blood clots, but it is not supposed to be used to “bust” an already formed clot. However, new residents and young or inexperienced physicians may attempt to use Heparin and Warfarin as a clot buster anyway by flushing the system with massive amounts of Heparin, more than is recommended, in hopes that the powerful flush will dissolve the clot. Sometimes it works, but almost all of the time it results in serious side effects. This is because an overdose of a blood thinner can cause catastrophic and widespread bleeding throughout the body. This is also a textbook example of a blood clot.
This is particularly dangerous to the internal organs or the brain, but blood can begin to spill throughout the body and in areas that a doctor may not be able to identify and treat before it becomes too late, such as in the lungs, stomach (through an ulcer) or intestines (through injured polyps, fissures, or tears). These are commonly due to medical malpractice.
A patient who is suffering from a Heparin overdose will have many signs, some of them very obvious. The most obvious signs would be bleeding from the finger cuticles or mouth, particularly along the gums. Other signs of Heparin overdoses caused by Oregon medical malpractice include the following:
It is a medical emergency when a patient receives an overdose of a blood thinner. It can result in serious and catastrophic injury which can be irreversible and lead to wrongful death. If you or a loved one have suffered from a doctor’s negligence due to an overdose of a blood thinner, please call Kuhlman Law, LLC to learn how we can help you.
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