What is antiphospholipid syndrome (APS)?

Antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) is type of autoimmune disorder in blood that increase the risk of blood clots in the body along with difficulty in conceiving or sustaining a pregnancy.

Blood clots can damage your kidneys, lungs, or brain, or they can cause such serious problems as the formation of DVTs, or deep vein thrombosis, in your legs.

The other name for APS is Hughes syndrome. More women are affected by this disease compared to men.

What are the symptoms of antiphospholipid syndrome?

The patient with antiphospholipid syndrome may have darkish, lace-like skin mottling known as livedo reticulitis. However, most patients with APS do not present with symptoms until they develop a blood clot or experience a problem during pregnancy.

Blood clot signs and symptoms can include:

• Chest pain.
• Dyspnoea, or shortness of breath.
• Recurring headaches.
• You may feel a sudden ache in your neck, jaw, back, arms, or legs.
• Swelling or redness in your leg or arm.
• Abdominal pain, or stomachache.

Blood clots can form severe medical emergencies. If you feel that you are suffering from blood clotting, you should be taken to the ER as soon as possible.

Some of the symptoms of APS that you can't see or feel or perceive include the following:

• Low blood platelet count.
• Anaemia.
• Heart valves anomalies.

What is the medical cause of antiphospholipid syndrome?

APS develops when the infection-fighting antibodies your body manufactures begin attacking your own body – this is sometimes known as an autoimmune condition.

There are actually various forms of APSs:

Primary APS — When the patient suffers from the disease in isolation, without a recognized autoimmune disease.

Secondary APS — When the condition develops due to or concomitant with another disease and include:

• Autoimmune disease like lupus
• Some infections like hiv/aids, Q fever
• Two common medications phenothiazines and procainamide.

Catastrophic APS (CAPS) - This is rare and dangerous form of APS wherein there is diffuse thrombosis within the small blood vessels which results in failure of 3 or more organs in less than a week.

What are the risk factors?

Anyone can get APS, but you may become more likely to do so if you:

• Are assigned female at birth (AFAB).
• Are between 30 and 40 years old.
• Have other auto-immune diseases like lupus or rheumatoid arthritis.
• Have close family members (including biological parents and grandparents) with APS.

What are APS syndrome complications?

What are complications of APS syndrome?

APS can cause serious life-threatening complications

The most serious complications arising from APS occur when clots occlude blood vessels throughout your body, including your:

• Brain (strokes).
• Heart (thrombosis).
• Lungs (pulmonary embolism).
• Kidneys.

Being diagnosed with APS may cause miscarriage if a clot occludes the nutrients flow in the placenta. Its severity also may risk preeclampsia.

Catastrophic antiphospholipid syndrome, CAPS, is a complication of APS that takes a sharp turn when multiple blood clots develop in various organs of the body within a few days of each other. The condition in CAPS is fatal in almost half of those who suffer from it. Only less than 1% of those who have APS develop CAPS.

How is antiphospholipid syndrome diagnosed by physicians?

The majority of patients are diagnosed with APS testing only after blood clot or miscarriage. Antiphospholipid antibodies do exist in many patients, however they never become symptomatic of APS or consequence.

Blood test will be requested by a practitioner to diagnose this condition of APS.

For three individual blood tests- one for checking each of the three antiphospholipid antibodies-three blood samples would be drawn by the doctor. Your doctor must also have at least one positive reading for APS to diagnose antiphospholipid syndrome by two separate blood tests that have been taken over three months apart.

How is APS treated?

Not all individuals with abnormal antibodies experience blood clots. If you have APS, you might need to be on medication that thins your blood and reduces your chances of developing a clot since clots can be quite dangerous.

These include warfarin, a tablet, and heparin, an injection. Your doctor might also prescribe you low-dose aspirin. In any case, your doctor must monitor you very closely because both of these medicines increase the possibility of bleeding.

It can never be taken if a pregnant woman is on warfarin. Other medications will be prescribed by the doctors such as heparin or low dose aspirin. Taking blood thinning medicines can help to increase your chance of carrying the baby to term.

If you have APS, talk to your doctor about your risks and potential choices before planning a baby.

Can I prevent antiphospholipid syndrome?

Because experts don't know what triggers your body to create the antiphospholipid antibodies that causes it, there is no way to prevent APS.

What should I expect if I have APS?

APS responds well to treatment with blood thinners, and you can do all of your normal activities once you begin treatment. Most individuals managing their APS with blood thinners can safely get pregnant and have biological children.

How do I take care of myself if I have antiphospholipid syndrome?

The most important thing about having APS is the prevention of blood clots. That's a pretty big part of taking anticoagulation medication.

Other things that you want to be aware of to help reduce your risk for clots are other health conditions. Talk to your provider about your unique clot risks if you have any of the following:

• Diabetes.
• High blood pressure (hypertension).
• High cholesterol.
• Obesity.
• Other autoimmune diseases.

Smoking also increases your risk of blood clots, especially if you have a clotting disorder like APS.

People who take estrogen therapy (for birth control or during menopause) also have an increased clot risk.

When should I see my doctor?

Contact your doctor if you have unexplained bleeding from your nose or gums, an unusually heavy menstrual period, vomit that's bright red or looks like coffee grounds, black, tarry stool or bright red stool, or abdominal pain that's unexplained.

Seek emergency care if you have any of these signs and symptoms:

• Stroke: A clot in your brain can cause sudden numbness, weakness or paralysis of your face, arm or leg. You may have difficulty speaking or understanding speech, visual disturbances and a severe headache.
• Pulmonary embolism: If a clot lodges in your lung, you may experience sudden shortness of breath, chest pain and coughing up blood-streaked mucus.

Deep vein thrombosis is a condition that has these signs and symptoms:

• Swelling
• Redness
• Pain in a leg or arm

Why Tender Palm Super-Speciality Hospital for antiphospholipid syndrome?

Tender Palm Hospital, owned by doctors, is renowned for attracting the most experienced professional in the country. With the finest neurologist and neurosurgeons specialized in antiphospholipid syndrome. Tender Palm stands out as the premier Neurology hospital in Lucknow, India. Boasting cutting-edge infrastructure and advanced technology, Tender Palm ensures top-notch medical care for its patients.

To seek an expert consultation for any Neurology condition

Call us at +91-9076972161
Email at care@tenderpalm.com

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