When a person has VWD, because the VWF doesn’t work the way it should, the clot might take longer to form or form incorrectly and bleeding might take longer to stop. This can lead to heavy, hard-to-stop bleeding. Although rare, the bleeding can be serious enough to damage joints or internal organs, or even be life-threatening.
Who is Affected?
VWD is the most common bleeding disorder, found in up to 1% of the U.S. population. This means that 3.2 million (or about 1 in every 100) people in the United States have the disease. Although VWD occurs among men and women equally, women are more likely to notice the symptoms because of heavy or abnormal bleeding during their menstrual periods and after childbirth. There are 3 major types of VWD: Type 1, Type 2, and Type 3.
Causes
Most people who have VWD are born with it. It almost always is inherited, or passed down, from a parent to a child. VWD can be passed down from either the mother or the father, or both, to the child.
While rare, it is possible for a person to get VWD without a family history of the disease. This can happen if a spontaneous mutation occurs. That means there has been a change in the person’s gene. Whether a child receives the affected gene from a parent or as a result of a mutation, once the child has it, the child can later pass it along to his or her children.
Also, it is rare, but possible, for a person to get or acquire VWD (they didn’t receive the affected gene from their parent or as a result of a mutation) later in life because of an underlying medical condition. This can happen when a person’s own immune system (which controls the body’s ability to fight germs and sickness) destroys his or her VWF, often as a result of the use of a medication or as a result of another disease. If VWD is acquired in this way, it cannot be passed along to any children.
Diagnosis
To find out if a person has VWD, the doctor will ask questions about personal and family histories of bleeding. The doctor also will check for unusual bruising or other signs of recent bleeding and order some blood tests to measure how the blood clots. The tests will provide information about the amount of clotting proteins present in the blood and if the clotting proteins are working properly. Because certain medications can cause bleeding, even among people without a bleeding disorder, the doctor will ask about recent or routine medications taken that could cause bleeding or make bleeding symptoms worse.
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