NEW MEDICAL MARVEL STOPS BLEEDING FAST!
Great news for folks using anticoagulants
ABREAKTHROUGH bioengineered material can stop bleeding almost instantly, making it a potential lifesaver for millions of Americans who take anticoagulant medications!
The revolutionary hemostat was developed by scientists at Brigham and Women’s Hospital after they discovered a compound extracted from the outer skeletons of shellfish can rapidly halt bleeding.
The new material effectively causes clotting in as little as five minutes — a fraction of the hours needed for traditional compression methods. “This is a next-generation hemostat that effectively stops bleeding — even in patients who take anticoagulation or antiplatelet medications,” says researcher Dr. Hae Lin Jang. More than 11 million Americans take bloodthinning drugs like Eliquis, heparin and aspirin to break down clots or stop them from forming. This helps prevent strokes, heart attacks and pulmonary embolisms. But those meds also put patients in danger of life-threatening bleeding if they are injured or have to undergo surgery.
Inspired by the architecture of the human lung, the team engineered the new porous material to maximize blood absorption and activate clotting mechanisms. They used chitosan — extracted from the shells of crustaceans — after discovering the compound activates the body’s TLR-2 clotting pathway and increases coagulation.
The scientists demonstrated the hemostat’s efficacy in 70 patients who underwent cardiovascular catheterization while on the potent anticoagulant heparin. The subjects’ bleeding stopped after an average of five minutes for those on low-dose heparin and under nine minutes for those on higher regimens.
The hemostatic material eliminated the need for strong and prolonged compression that can take hours and requires extensive nursing. In addition, the substance could be easily and cleanly removed without triggering further bleeding. “This hemostat can save valuable time in emergency situations,” says Brigham’s Dr. Vivian Lee.
“In emergencies, it can be extremely challenging to screen the prescription information of a patient to provide appropriate reversal therapy for those on anticoagulants.
“If a hemostat can bypass a medication’s anticoagulating mechanisms, it can be used in a wide range of patients — saving time, and potentially saving lives.”