Factor V (five)

For those of you who did not read my last blog, "What A Week," I just found out I have factor V. After doing some more research on it, I didn't realize what a scary thing it is.
My mom died over four years ago, I'm not saying it was the cause of her death, but I would not be surprised it if played apart in her death.

This is what Factor V is....

Factor V Leiden is the most common hereditary blood coagualtion disorder in the United States. It is present in 5% of the Caucasian population and 1.2% of the African American population.

Factor V Leiden increases the risk of venous thrombosis 3-8 fold for heterozygous (one damaged gene inherited) and substantially more, 30-140 fold, for homozygous (two damaged genes inherited) individuals.
The prothrombin 20210 mutation is the second most common inherited clotting abnormality. It is more common than protein S and C deficiency and Antithrombin deficiency combined; 2% of the general population is heterozygous. It is only a mild risk factor for clots, but together with other risk factors (such as oral contraceptives, surgery, trauma, high blood pressure, obesity, smoking, etc) or combined with other clotting disorders (like Factor V Leiden), the risk of clotting increases dramatically.

Factor V Leiden can be associated with the following complications:

Venous Thrombosis blood clots in veins, such as:
Deep vein thrombosis (DVT), veins in arms and legs
Superficial thrombophlebitis
Sinus vein thrombosis, veins around the brain
Mesenteric vein thrombosis, intestinal veins
Budd-Chiari syndrome, liver veins
Pulmonary Embolism (PE), blood clots in the lungs
Arterial clots (stroke, heart attack) in selected patients (some smokers)
Possibly with stillbirth or recurrent unexplained miscarriage
Preeclampsia and/or eclampsia (toxemia while pregnant)

If you have experienced any of these complications, you may have Factor V Leiden. However, many people with Factor V Leiden remain completely healthy throughout their lives.

I found a cool web-site that answers all the questions on might have http://www.fvleiden.org/. That is where I got the information above from.

Who should be tested...
There are a number of scenarios in which a patient should have a blood test for the Leiden mutation. They are:

1. If they unexpectedly have a DVT without a clear predisposing factor, such as smoking, varicose veins or obesity, especially if under the age of 30;
2. If they have a family history of the mutation.
3. If they have had more than one episode of DVT.

The sad thing is kids can even get Factor V.