Does having blood clots mean you could have APS?

[MNAnnie]

I post this for my 75 year old mom who was recently hospitalized for 2 blood clots.One was in her leg and one was in her lung. This wasn't the first blood clot she had ever had. She'd had one following a hysterectomy about 30 years ago.

She went home after a week in the hospital on something called warfarin something. I live several hundred miles from Mom & am getting the information from my sister in law.

I saw a small article on APS somewhere a few months and wondered if this was something my Mom could have.

Please refresh me on the symptoms and how they would test for this.

Thank you for your time,
Annie

[JoD]

Just a simple blood test-
http://www.hughes-syndrome.org/diagnosis.htm

[Mountain Man]

Regardless of the underlying cause of the clotting, warfarin (Coumadin) is pretty much the standard treatment; it's an anti-coagulant (sometimes called a "blood thinner") that will help prevent excessive clotting.

I suspect the docs will have to try and determine the underlying source of the clotting; APS is one of many potential causes for it. Just the inactivity of being in a hospital bed can cause venous clotting in some people

APS is Dxed through a blood test which measures the level of anti-phospolipid (or anti-cardiolipin) antibodies in the blood. Generally, when an APS test is done, many other blood tests are done (Factors V, VII and IX, Von Willerand's, CRP, anti-nuclear protein, etc.) to get a good picture of the clotting system and possible problems with it.

Good luck to both you and your mom.

Mountain Man

[MNAnnie]

Thank you, JoD and Mountain Man for all of your information.

I was on the phone with Mom and SIL last night and asked SIL to ask about APS blood tests for Mom. It sure couldn't hurt to get the tests. If the tests show it's not APS, so much the better, I guess.
It's very hard to be so far away from your family when things like this start happening.
I'll be going home the week of Thanksgiving. Just seeing my mom will make me feel so much more relieved.

Thanks again.
Annie

[Eyzrbrn]

How did your mom's tests turn out? Does she have APS?