Heparin is an anticoagulant you take to prevent blood clots or keep an existing clot from getting worse. People often receive heparin through an IV during a hospital stay, but you can also inject it into your skin. People take heparin for different lengths of time, depending on why they need it. Heparin works quickly but also wears off quickly.
Heparin is an anticoagulant (“blood thinner”) that stops your blood from forming blood clots or making them bigger. It can help a blood clot dissolve faster, but it can’t break it down.
Your digestive system can’t absorb heparin, so you need to receive it a different way. A heparin infusion goes into your body through an IV in your vein. You can also inject it below your skin.
Heparin makes your blood less able to clot. To do this, it makes thrombin inactive. Thrombin has a major role in the clot-making process. Heparin also blocks factor Xa, another clotting factor in your blood, preventing it from playing its part in making clots. Imagine if your body used an assembly line to make clots; heparin would be taking tools away from two workers with important jobs on the line.
Healthcare providers use heparin to treat or prevent blood clots that can cause you harm. You may receive heparin if you have:
You may be on heparin temporarily while you’re in the hospital if you have a mechanical heart valve or an acquired or genetic condition that makes you prone to forming blood clots.
Sometimes, pregnant people may need heparin if there’s a concern about losing the fetus. (Heparin doesn’t go through the placenta to a fetus.)
Advertisement
Cleveland Clinic is a non-profit academic medical center. Advertising on our site helps support our mission. We do not endorse non-Cleveland Clinic products or services. Policy
When a healthcare provider gives you heparin as an infusion through an IV line, they have to draw and test your blood first. Your test results tell them the correct amount of heparin to give you.
An activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT) test tells how long it takes for your blood to clot. If you already have heparin in your body, your provider will check to see how well it’s working. They’ll adjust your heparin dose and test regularly to ensure the heparin is working correctly.
When they need fast results, providers use an activated clotting time (ACT) test.
You may receive infusion therapy in a hospital or even at home. Your provider will give you the information you need if you’re having infusion therapy at home.
The amount of time that you need heparin depends on why you’re taking it. For example, after surgery, you may need heparin for seven days or until you can prevent blood clots by walking around.
Healthcare providers use heparin in a hospital setting. Before you leave the hospital, they’ll switch you over to a different medicine that doesn’t need an IV or injection. When you go home from the hospital, you’ll probably be taking a type of blood thinner that you can swallow instead of giving yourself injections.
Heparin’s benefits include:
Advertisement
If you get hurt when you have heparin in your body, you may bleed too much. When you’re taking heparin, report any concerns about bruising or bleeding to your provider right away. If you’re in the hospital or another healthcare facility, ask for help before getting out of bed. This’ll reduce the risk of falling.
If you receive a very high dose of heparin, there’s also the risk of spontaneous bleeding in your brain, nose, lungs, gastrointestinal (GI) tract, urinary tract or large muscles in your body such as your psoas muscle, quadriceps or abdominal muscles.
Also, other drugs can change the way heparin works. Your dose of the medicine may get too weak or too strong if it reacts to another drug you’re taking. Check with your healthcare provider or pharmacist before you start to take any new drugs, over-the-counter products or supplements.
Side effects of heparin may include:
When you receive heparin through an IV, it works right away. A heparin injection under your skin starts working in one or two hours.
Advertisement
If you do need to give yourself a heparin injection, your healthcare provider will show you how to do it. They can tell you where to inject it and what to do with the needles you use.
Contact your provider if you’re taking heparin and you have these side effects:
A note from Cleveland Clinic
If your healthcare provider orders heparin for you during a hospital stay, you can take comfort in knowing that hospitals have been using it for decades. They have tests to help them determine how much you need so they give you the right amount. Like any medicine, heparin has side effects and risks. But your provider won’t prescribe it without looking at the benefits and risks in your situation. Talk to your provider if you have questions about taking heparin.
Last reviewed on 06/02/2023.
Learn more about the Health Library and our editorial process.
Advertisement
Cleveland Clinic is a non-profit academic medical center. Advertising on our site helps support our mission. We do not endorse non-Cleveland Clinic products or services. Policy