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Reported June 30, 2003
Heparin Allergy

Heparin AllergyORLANDO, Fla. (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Twelve million
Americans receive the anti-blood clotting drug heparin every year.
Clotting is a risk after surgery but it could be an allergic reaction.
About 120,000 patients have an allergy to heparin and neither they nor
their doctor knows. That lack of awareness could be disastrous.

After surgery, Sylvia Bender was given a common drug to prevent blood
clotting. Years later, she knew something was wrong. She says, "Every
time I would take a breath, it would just feel like a knife was
stabbing right, just right in my ribs."

Bender developed blood clots in her lungs -- a result of an allergy to
the drug heparin. "The first time I went to the emergency room, I told
them, I said, 'I'm 10 days post-op and I think I have a blood clot,'
and they said 'Oh, no. It's cardiac or it's pleurisy.'"

Heparin AllergyWhat her doctors didn't know is what researcher John
Francis, Ph.D., is trying to get more people to recognize.

"Fifty percent of patients that undergo open-heart surgery will
develop an antibody to the heparin drug," Francis, of Florida Hospital
Cancer Institute in Orlando, tells Ivanhoe.

Those patients may later develop clots and be given heparin again. "In
other words, in a patient that is being given heparin to prevent blood
clotting, the very drug which is supposed to help that, in fact, makes
it worse," says Francis.

Heparin AllergyHe says it's important that doctors measure blood
platelet counts before heparin treatment and monitor them regularly
after. Pain at the site of injection, fever, sweating and shortness of
breath are other signals of allergy.

Bender will soon be having knee surgery. She knows to mention her
allergy to her doctor. "When I found out I, was allergic to it, it was
like, well, 'Thank you Lord that you told me this' and now I will make
sure that they don't give me any heparin."

The reaction may cause massive clotting if untreated. This can
ultimately lead to amputation or death. Other situations where doctors
may use heparin include vascular and orthopedic surgery, and other
cardiac procedures. Some cancer patients and patients on dialysis
receive heparin also.

This article was reported by Ivanhoe.com, who offers Medical Alerts by
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If you would like more information, please contact:

Heather Allebaugh
Media Relations
Florida Hospital
616 E. Rollins Street, Suite 103
Orlando, FL 32803
(407) 303-1917
heather.allebaugh@flhosp.org
http://www.floridahospital.com

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