Thick Blood
In the process of treating patients at CMRS, we often perform procedures which involve needles and blood: for example, starting IV’s and doing Prolotherapy injections. Sometimes I will comment that a Prolo patient’s blood is nice and red and flows freely, and explain to them that is a good thing. The reason that the nurses and I notice this in the clinic is that many of our sickest patients instead have blood that is dark in color and does not flow well at all. Some Prolo patients may receive 30-40 injections and not bleed at all. What’s going on here? The issue is hypercoagulability of the blood. This basically means that there is an accumulation of various blood proteins which renders the blood thicker and makes it clot faster. Sure, the coagulation response is a critical life preserving normal bodily function, but when it becomes imbalanced on the side of hypercoagulation, health problems can and do occur.
There are numerous conditions that are associated with “thick blood”. Autoimmune disease, infectious diseases like Lyme's, toxic states like heavy metal or chemical toxicity, cardiovascular disease, MS, chronic fatigue, and fibromyalgia are just a few of these disorders.
The most common symptoms of hypercoagulability are fatigue, mental fogginess, pain, stroke, and circulatory deficiency like poor leg or heart blood flow. In fact, there is some thought now that most chronic diseases may be at least in part caused by a hypercoagulable state. Indeed, natural medicine clinicians have described a variety of chronic medical conditions responding to low dose heparin (another anticoagulant) or coumadin therapy. Laboratory testing can help us confirm the clinical observation that someone may have thick blood. When a column of red blood cells in a glass tube are allowed to sit, the slower the rate of fall, the thicker the blood. This test is the erythrocyte sedimentation rate, and numbers less than 5 mm per hour are highly suggestive of hypercoagulation. Clotting factors and platelet stickiness can also be measured directly through our coagulation profile which measures the various components of the clotting mechanism, or by the bleeding time test whereby a small cut is made in the skin and the time required for the bleeding to stop is then measured. Hypercoagulability is also indicated when the patient is unable to discriminate between shades of gray on the visual contrast sensitivity test (FACT) that we use to screen patients for toxicity and neurodegenerative issues. The patient’s ability to pass this test depends in part upon adequate flow of blood through the retinal capillaries. That flow will be compromised in patients with hypercoagulability. New equipment that can directly measure the viscosity of the blood is in the process of being developed. There are many other tests that can focus on diagnosing specific abnormalities in the different elements of the clotting cascade.
In out patient practice, orthodox practitioners employ primarily coumadin, aspirin, and Plavix to thin blood and reduce the clotting tendency. Coumadin, also known as warfarin, is the compound used in rat poison. There is some debate now as to whether coumadin therapy is effective and indicated for clot prevention in patients with atrial fibrillation or congestive heart failure. If levels become excessive, there is a risk of serious hemorrhage and possibly death if the patient is in an accident and suffers a laceration or internal injury. Long term aspirin use has been associated with macular degeneration, the most common cause of blindness in this country. Plavix inhibits platelet stickiness in ways beyond the action of aspirin, so it is sometimes added in patients on aspirin who have had a heart attack.
Natural medicine doctors have used a number of supplements in the treatment of hypercoagulability. The Shute brothers, both physicians in Canada, introduced the world to the vascular benefits of Vitamin E in the 1950’s. Garlic has long been a standby in the natural treatment of excess clotting. Fish oil has been touted as being an effective blood thinning agent, and though it does work favorably on the blood fat profile, side to side comparison shows it has very weak (if any) anti-platelet effect compared to aspirin, so its benefits are probably not due to an effect on blood clotting.
The latest addition to the natural medicine doctor’s armamentarium for the hypercoagulable patient is nattokinase, or natto for short. This soy derived enzyme rich preparation will break down the pre-clotting protein called fibrin, as well as effectively dissolve mature clots that may have formed in the heart or brain. This is because natto mimics the effect of the naturally occurring clot buster plasmin produced within the body. It appears to have a very broad spectrum of anti-clotting and anti-fibrin effects, making iit perhaps the most preferred anti-hyper-coagulation and best clot busting treatment bar none. Some feel it is even more effective than the IV clot busters known as T-PA’s that are sometimes used intravenously in the emergent situations where a heart or stroke is in the process of development. Since it effectively clears fibrin (the precursor to arterial clog), it may represent a superior addition to an anti-aging program as well as a premiere treatment for those chronically ill patients with hypercoagulability, a history of heart attack, stroke, bypass surgery or angioplasty with stent patients. Coagulative clogging of cerebral arteries may even account for the gradual loss of neurons that ultimately result in the dementias of old age. Natto has been reported to be effective against high blood pressure as well.
If you are on pharmaceutical.agent anti-coagulation therapy, if you are chronically ill, if you have had a history of clotting disorders, heart attack, or stroke, and if you have serious mental fogginess, see a natural medicine doctor for an evaluation that will determine if you are in a hypercoagulable state, and if you are a candidate for nattokinase or other natural or herbal therapies. Do not suddenly discontinue any medication prescribed by your doctor except under a physician’s supervision. We are excited by the therapeutic possibilities of nattokinase therapy, especially because of the many benefits it offers without the risks of excess bleeding so prevalent with the pharmaceutical agents.
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