Interesting Facts about Factor V Leiden
- Another name used for Factor V Leiden is Activated Protein C Resistance.
- Most people with Factor V Leiden can’t donate bone morrow but they can donate blood unless they are taking blood thinners.
- People that have type O blood are less likely to develop blood clots related to Factor V Leiden than people that do not have type O blood (i.e. A, B or AB).
- Factor V Leiden is an inherited disorder. If you have Factor V Leiden, there is a reasonable chance that your children and your brothers and sisters may have inherited the mutated gene just like you did.
- Factor V Leiden should not be confused with factor V deficiency. Factor V deficiency is an inherited disorder characterized by low levels of clotting factor V. Individuals with factor V deficiency have an increased risk for excessive bleeding. Fortunately, factor V deficiency is extremely rare occurring in 1 in 1,000,000.
- Factor V Leiden Paradox – While carriers of the Factor V Leiden mutation have a clearly increased risk of deep vein thrombosis (i.e. blood clots in the leg veins), carriers of Factor V Leiden have only a weak risk factor for blood clots in the lungs (pulmonary embolism or PE). This differential effect of Factor V Leiden on the risk for these two types of vein clots is known as the “Factor V Leiden Paradox”.
- Blood thinners don’t actually “thin” your blood nor do they actually break up an existing clot. In most cases, blood thinners do keep the blood from forming new clots and also slow down the growth of an existing clot.
- The Factor V Leiden mutation is named after a city called Leiden in the Netherlands. Researchers at Leiden University first identified the mutation back in 1994.
- Although Factor V Leiden thrombophilia increases the risk of blood clots, only about 10 percent of individuals with the Factor V Leiden mutation ever develop abnormal clots.
- Having Factor V Leiden does not appear to increase the chances of developing a heart attack or stroke.
- Factor V Leiden does not appear to have any association with an increase risk of cancer or birth defects.
- The very complex process of blood clotting and then dissolving is known as the Coagulation Cascade.