Incidence of APS

[kaylish]

Hello. Antiphoshoplipid syndrome is a rare disorder as we all know and I guess thats why this site is so quiet. As someone with APS,there is little to mention really. I dont know about the rest of you. I also have two other associated disorders so I wouldnt know which symptoms were coming from where. I have done a little research and found that only 2-4 % of the population have APS. Does anyone know any differently. Interesting I thought... Hope you are all doing ok.

Kaylish

[Eyzrbrn]

APS isn't so rare and I fully see it being taken of the rare list in 10 years.

APS: The Statistics

*1-5% of the general population is believed to have APS.
*15-20% of all cases of blood clots in large veins (deep vein thrombosis), including blood clots that go to the lungs (pulmonary embolism) are due to APS.
*10-25% of women with recurrent miscarriages have APS.
*One third of strokes occurring in younger people (under the age of 50) are due to APS.
*APS is a major women’s health issue: 75-90% of those affected by APS are women.
*40-50% of patients with lupus also have APS.

http://www.apsfa.org/aps.htm#4

[seyf]

I agree that APS is not so rare, and can be a serious problem. The good news is that the tendency to form clots can often be prevented. Here are some suggestions:
In my opinion, everyone with APS should also be checked for lupus, especially women (incidence of lupus is 9:1 women:men), particularly if APS patients have symptoms suggestive of lupus or vague complaints that cannot be diagnosed. Talk to your Dr. about the idea of prophyllatic baby aspirin daily if you have APS but haven't had any clots or fetal losses, and if you have had clots or have other predisposing factors to atherosclerosis, get hypercoagulability testing done thru a hematologist.
Also get your serum homocysteine level checked (an amino acid in the blood). It is another predisposing factor for atherosclerosis and clotting propensity, and is a simple blood test. If elevated, can be brought down with folic acid, Vit B6, and Vit B12. A prescription called Foltx is available in the right dose combination that makes it easy- one pill, once daily. This can be a side effect of folic acid antagonists such as Methotrexate and some other chemotherapy agents.
If you have had clots of any type (DVT, TIA, heart attack, stroke, pulmonary emboli, etc) or fetal loss, placental insufficiciency you should definitely see a hematologist for additional testing for hereditary clotting disorders and inflammatory disorders that elevate C-reactive protein and sedimentation rate, like lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, many of the autoimmune/connective tissue/rheumatological disorders, as inflammation is a recognized precursor to atherosclerosis and clotting disorders. You may need to be on Coumadin to "thin the blood" or heparin type meds.
Pregnancy with APS is a high risk situation. So is being post-operative, especially orthopedic and GYN surgeries, and any surgery that immobilizes you or your extremities.
Remember that clots can be devastating, yet many can be prevented if you only know you are prone. I have lupus, APS, and high homocysteine, and have several other family members with the same plus hereditary clotting disorders. These are common in the Jewish population.
Combining APS with smoking, high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol, and all the other risk factors for atherosclerosis and clots makes it worse. So try to control all those factors as well. And keep moving! Long flights, prolonged sitting on road trips, any immobilization of lower extremities predisposes to DVTs in legs. Be proactive in prevention!!