I’m a post menopausal woman whose body it completely incapable of producing estrogen. I have zero without HRT. But since I’m having surgery soon, I can’t take them for a couple of weeks. To say that my quality of life has diminished is an understatement. I understand that HRT & BC can increase the risk of clots, especially for smokers (which I have not been for a dozen years now), but why?
In: Biology
the easy answer: estrogen causes an increase in clot forming factors and a decrease in the regulators of clot formation making it easier to form clots when you don’t want to
specific answer: your body has systems of checks and balances that help regulate normal states. one of the systems is clot formation which helps prevent excessive blood loss. it works through two parts. estrogen affects the second part, the coagulation cascade, increasing levels of factors 2, 7, 8, 10, and fibrinogen all of which are pro-thrombotic, meaning they are pro-clot forming. it also decreases antithrombin and protein S, which help regulate the coagulation cascade and prevent excessive formation. decrease the regulation increases clot formation. it also increases resistance to protein C, another regulator of the coagulation cascade
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