Hypercoagulable States

Inherited hypercoagulable states, also known as thrombophilic disorders, can be due to loss of function of natural anticoagulant pathways or gain of function in procoagulant pathways. Acquired hypercoagulable states represent a heterogeneous group of disorders in which the risk for thrombosis appears to be higher than that in the general population. These include such diverse risk factors as a prior history of thrombosis, obesity, pregnancy, cancer and its treatment, antiphospholipid antibody syndrome, drug-induced thrombosis such as heparin-induced thrombocytopenia or thrombosis associated with chemotherapeutic agents, or myeloproliferative disorders. This chapter describes the inherited, acquired, and mixed hypercoagulable states, details their laboratory evaluation, and provides practical advice for the management of these conditions.