Options For Treating Mesenteric Ischemia

Anticoagulation Or Antiplatelet Therapy

Mesenteric ischemia caused by a minor blood clot may be treated with anticoagulation or antiplatelet therapy. Anticoagulants and antiplatelet medications are specialized medications that use different mechanisms to break up existing blood clots and prevent the development of new blood clots. Anticoagulants work by producing a considerable delay in the natural process of blood clotting by acting on the clotting factors themselves. Antiplatelets inhibit the action of the enzymes responsible for the activation of platelets. When platelets are activated, they stick together and to the artery walls easily. Both of these medications are effective at helping break up existing blood clots and preventing new ones, but anticoagulants are generally stronger than antiplatelets. These medications can be given orally, intravenously, or through an injection. Depending on the underlying cause of the blood clotting that results in mesenteric ischemia, antiplatelet and anticoagulant therapy may be used independently of one another. These medications also may be used in a combined therapy.

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Thrombolysis

Thrombolysis is a treatment used to dissolve or break up blood clots in the blood vessels. This procedure is used to treat mesenteric ischemia caused by a stationary solid-mass blood clot that develops in one of the mesenteric arteries. Clots can form abnormally in the blood vessels as a result of certain diseases and or genetic factors. There are two main methods of thrombolysis. Chemical thrombolysis is performed with the use of clot-dissolving medications delivered directly into the affected artery to dissolve it. These medications may be delivered with an injection, or they can be given through a catheter threaded into the affected artery. Mechanical thrombolysis involves the physical break up of the blood clot using a catheter. The catheter end is equipped with a rotating device, ultrasound device, a tiny suction cup, or a high-speed fluid jet. Thrombolysis is a treatment option commonly used when the blockage causing mesenteric ischemia is emergent.

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