Factor V Leiden Awareness

Factor V Leiden is a mutation of one of the clotting factors in the blood called factor V. This mutation can increase your chance of developing abnormal blood clots (thrombophilia), usually in your veins. Most people with factor V Leiden (FAK-tur five LIDE-n) never develop abnormal clots. But some do develop clots that lead to long-term health problems or become life-threatening. Both men and women can have factor V Leiden. Women may have an increased tendency to develop blood clots during pregnancy or when taking the hormone estrogen. If you have factor V Leiden and have developed blood clots, anticoagulant medications can lessen your risk of developing additional blood clots and help you avoid potentially serious complications. Factor V Leiden makes it harder for anti-clotting proteins to break up factor V. This keeps factor V in the blood longer and increases the chance of clotting. If you have factor V Leiden, you inherited either one copy (heterozygous) or, rarely, two copies (homozygous) of the defective gene. Inheriting one copy slightly increases your risk of developing blood clots. Inheriting two copies — one from each parent — significantly increases your risk of developing blood clots. This requires a special blood test