- activated clotting time (ACT)
- a way to measure the time it takes to form a clot; available as a point-of-care test
- anti-factor Xa level (anti-Xa)
- measurement of the concentration of drugs that inhibit factor Xa in the clotting cascade
- anticoagulants
- drugs that work in different parts of the coagulation cascade to decrease the propensity of the blood to form a clot
- clotting factors
- proteins that work to activate different parts of the coagulation cascade
- coagulation cascade
- series of events that leads to blood clotting
- complete blood count
- laboratory blood test that measures the amount of red blood cells, white blood cells, hemoglobin, hematocrit, and platelets
- deep vein thrombosis (DVT)
- blood clot that forms in a vein
- erythrocytes
- red blood cells
- fibrinolysis
- breakdown of fibrin
- hematocrit
- percentage or proportion of red blood cells in the blood
- hemoglobin
- substance that binds oxygen and facilitates oxygen transport in the blood
- hemostasis
- the ability to cease bleeding
- heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT)
- major complication of heparin therapy characterized by a decrease in platelets and concomitant hypercoagulable state
- hypercoagulable
- excessive propensity to form a clot
- international normalized ratio
- provides another measurement of the length of time the blood takes to clot, calculated using the prothrombin time (PT)
- ischemic stroke
- when a clot obstructs blood flow to the brain
- partial thromboplastin time (PTT)
- laboratory test obtained via venous blood sample that provides a measurement of the length of time the blood takes to clot
- platelets
- component of the blood that bind together and to endothelial tissue to form a clot
- prothrombin time (PT)
- a measurement of the time it takes to form a clot; used to calculate the international normalized ratio (INR)
- pulmonary embolism (PE)
- a clot that has typically formed in a vein but has broken off and lodged in the vasculature of the lungs
- thrombolytics
- drugs that dissolve existing clots
- thrombosis
- the formation of a clot that obstructs blood flow