Bleeding Disorders - Treatment - Treatment

Bleeding disorders affect many parts of the body, so you will need a team of different doctors for your care. This includes a hematologist, a doctor who specializes in blood disorders. It may also include a specialized nurse, physical therapist, and social worker. You and your healthcare team may develop a treatment plan that is best for you depending on the bleeding disorder.

Medicines to treat bleeding disorders may include the following.

• Antifibrinolytic agents, such as tranexamic acid, to treat bleeding after childbirth or during procedures such as those involving dental work
• Birth control pills to treat heavy menstrual bleeding for women with von Willebrand disease
• Desmopressin (DDAVP), a human-made hormone, to treat minor bleeding in hemophilia or VWD.
• Immunosuppressive medicines, such as prednisone, to block production of antibodies in acquired bleeding disorders. Side effects can include infections and diabetes.
• Vitamin K supplement, to treat vitamin K deficiency bleeding

Factor replacement therapy is a type of treatment where clotting factors that are from blood donations or made in a lab are given to replace the missing clotting factor. Your doctor may recommend factor replacement therapy when you experience bleeding or to prevent bleeding from occurring. Treatment with replacement therapy on a regular basis to prevent bleeding is called prophylactic treatment. Prophylactic treatment is most often used for severe bleeding disorders.

Factor replacement therapy may include:

• Bypassing medicines to treat antibodies. These medicines add other types of clotting factors to help your blood clot. This treatment can raise the risk of blood clots forming in the blood vessels.
• Clotting factor concentrates to replace the missing clotting factor in inherited bleeding disorders. This treatment can raise the risk of antibodies forming in the blood. Sometimes factor concentrates are used in higher doses to treat bleeding disorders related to antibodies.
• Fresh frozen plasma, from human blood, to provide clotting factors. It is used for bleeding disorders caused when multiple clotting factors are missing, such as liver disease-associated bleeding.

Learn more about how complications are managed in the Living With section.

• Research for Your Health will explain how we are using current research and advancing research to treat people who have bleeding disorders.
• Participate in NHLBI Clinical Trials will discuss our open and enrolling clinical studies that are investigating treatments for bleeding disorders.
• Living With will explain what your doctor may recommend including lifestyle changes and ongoing care to improve your quality of life and prevent complications.