After some research all the sources I’ve found either gave a very vague “they slow down clot formation” or went into explicit detail that I’d need a PhD to understand. What’s the actual difference in how they work.
Bonus ELI5- How does alcohol thin blood? This was actually the original question I wanted answered but my curiosity went a step further.
In: Biology
So, blood clotting works by a whole cascade of clotting factors – which are little proteins in the blood. When one is activated, it then activates the next, which activates the next, which activates the next. This makes a *cascade* so that your blood clots very very quickly. They also all tend to enhance one another and “egg each other on” in many ways.
Different blood thinners target different clotting factors. Aspirin targets platelets and prevents them from clumping together, while warfarin blocks an enzyme called *vitamin k epoxide reductase* which is responsible for “turning on” factors II, VII, XI, and X when the blood needs to clot.
By targeting different areas, the blood thinners work in very different ways. Warfarin is much stronger than aspirin, and can also be reversed by giving someone a huge dose of vitamin k. This is very important if the person is bleeding a lot – like if they have been in a car crash or something.
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