Pregnancy and
the Risk of Blood Clots
Of all the complications that may occur during pregnancy, clots
that obstruct blood vessels are the leading cause of death in pregnant
women. Still, such occurrences are relatively uncommon. How do you
know if venous thrombosis, as the condition is called, is something
that you should worry about? How do you know if drug treatment is
necessary? Researchers are trying to answer these questions.
In Germany, physicians conducted a study to determine the risk of
clots associated with certain genetic and protein factors in pregnant
women. The researchers collected and analyzed blood samples from
women with a history of blood clots during or after pregnancy. These
samples were compared to blood samples from women who did not experience
these problems. According to the results, women with normal genetic
and protein factors had only a 0.03% risk of formation of blood
clots. The findings also showed that two genetic abnormalities,
known as G20210A prothrombin-gene mutation and factor V Leiden,
are individual risk factors for blood clots, increasing the risk
of blood clots to 0.5% and 0.25%, respectively. In addition, a woman
who has both variations has a greater probability of experiencing
blood clots during pregnancy (4.6%). However, only 9.3% of the women
with a history of blood clots had both genetic variations. Women
with deficiencies in proteins that prevent blood clotting were also
at increased risk for this complication during pregnancy (0.4% probability).
The results do not suggest that every pregnant woman should be screened
for the genetic variations associated with blood clots. Rather,
women who have a personal or family history of problems due to blood
clots should discuss the need for screening with their obstetrician.
Treatment is available to help prevent the formation of blood clots
in women who are at an increased risk.
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