Issues of blood damage, and blood clots

Definition A blood clot is a thickened mass in the blood formed by tiny substances called platelets. The reason why the clot phenomenon happens is that it forms to stop bleeding at the point where there is a cut. Blood clots should not form when blood is moving through the bod. If blood clots do form inside blood vessels or when blood has a tendency to clot too much, serious health problems can occur and there can be a high chance of blood damage. Description As soon as a blood vessel wall is damagedby a cut or similar traumaa series of reactions normally takes place to activate platelets to stop the bleeding. Platelets are the tiny particles in the blood released into the bone marrow that gather together and form a barrier to further bleeding. Several proteins in the body are involved in the platelets clotting process. As platelets gather at the site of injury, they change in shape from round to spiny, releasing proteins and other substances that help catch more platelets and clotting proteins. This enlarges the plug that becomes a blood clot. Formation of blood clots also is called "coagulation". The series of reactions that cause proteins and platelets to create blood clots also are balanced by other reactions that stop the clotting process and dissolve clots after the blood vessel has healed. If this control system fails, minor blood vessel injuries can trigger clotting throughout the body. The tendency to clot too much is called "hypercoagulation". Anytime clots form inside blood vessels, they can lead to serious complications. Blood clotting is a complex process, but it mainly involves: The inner layer of cells lining the blood vessels. These cells play a major role in causing blood clots to form. Clotting factors. These proteins help create a network of fibrinanother type of protein. Fibrin acts as glue to hold a blood clot together. Platelets can stick together to form a clot. Excessive blood clotting can occur if the body's clotting process is altered or wrongly triggered. Blood clots can form in, or travel to, the arteries or veins in the brain, heart, kidneys, lungs, and limbs Certain diseases and conditions, genetic mutations, medicines, or other factors can cause excessive blood clotting. A blood clot that blocks an artery to the brain can cause a stroke. If the clot blocks blood flow to the lungs pulmonary embolismcan occur. A blood clot that blocks a coronary artery can cause a heart attack. Certain people are at higher risk for blood clots than others; surgery, some injuries, childbirth and lying or sitting still for extended periods of time put people at higher risk, as do inherited disorders. Once a person has a blood clot, he or she may have to take bloodthinning drugs to prevent clots from recurring. Men and women are at similar risk for blood clots.

Causes and symptoms Many causes can lead to blood clots, some genetic and some environmental. An environmental cause of DVT is prolonged inactivity. For instance, having to sit in a car or airplane for a long period of time decreases blood flow in the lower legs. Recent studies have shown that 1% of air travelers develop blood clots, usually on long flights of five hours or more. However, one study in 2004 found that air travelers developed clots on flights as short as three hours, though they often dissolved naturally and did not lead to complications. Other environmental causes of blood clots include use of hormone replacement therapy to ease menopausal symptoms, oral contraceptives for birth control, pregnancy (and a childbirth within the past six weeks), recent surgery or procedures involving use of a central venous access catheter, and cancer. Smoking also is an important and preventable environmental risk for blood clots. What are the risk factors for blood clots? The risk factors for arterial clots are those that are common to all diseases that cause narrowing of blood vessels, cholesterol plaque formation, and plaque rupture.High blood pressure, High cholesterol levels, Diabetes, Smoking, Family history

http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/ebc/ebc_causes.html
Normally, blood clots form to seal small cuts or breaks on blood vessel walls and stop bleeding. After the bleeding has stopped and healing has occurred, the body breaks down and removes the clots.

http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/hearthealth/blood.htm

How fluid mechanics has been applied to help solve problem issues associated with blood Pumps

The development of the blood pump is significant in so many ways. Fluid mechanics have to consider various factors in which to create a stable and reliable blood pump in which is most ideal for the conditions and environment it is in. These conditions include: Move volumes of blood up to 5.0 L/Min Must be able to pump blood at low velocities of flow All parts in contact with blood should have smooth surface Must be possible to dismantle, clean and sterilize the pump with ease, and the blood handling components must be disposable Calibration should be easy, reliable, and reproducible

Pump should be automatically controlled; however, option for manual operation in case of power failure Must have adjustable stroke volume and pulse rate These important factors are combined with the fluid mechanics theories, and therefore produce a reliable blood pump for the human body. There are various kinds of blood pumps in which have been developed over the years. Kinetic Pumps Centrifugal pumps

Positive Displacement Pumps: Rotary Pumps Reciprocating Pumps

Fluid meachanics has been incooperated into the design of these bloodpumps. Fluid mechanics factors include - Reynolds number Blood acts as a Newtonian fluid, one that has a constant viscosity at all velocities Another important factor that effects the flow of blood Viscosity = Shear Stress / Shear Rate Fluid mechanics has contributed to solving quite a few problems of biology, of physiology and of artificial organs. As examples of the latter, flows in artificial heart valves and pulsatile ventriculars have been investigated. An example of fluid mechanics incorporating the design of the blood pump is where Pulsatile pumps are characterized by inlet jets that set up a rotational wash pattern during filling. Strong regurgitant jets through the closed artificial heart valves have Reynolds stresses on the order of 10,000 dynes/cm2and are the most likely cause of red blood cell damage and platelet activation. Although the flow in the pump chamber appears benign, low wall shear stresses throughout the pump cycle can lead to thrombus formation at the wall of the smaller pumps (1050 cc). The local fluid mechanics is critical. There is a need to rapidly measure or calculate the wall shear stress throughout the device so that the results may be easily incorporated into the design process. Clearly the need for fluid mechanics in essence to solve the problem faced with design is super critical. Another example is fluid mechanical problems encountered in eight years of developmental studies on a centrifugal blood pump with magnetically suspended impeller. The main results of the investigation are as follows. The impeller disk friction is dominant anaong all the power losses; the magnetically

suspended impeller with radial straight vanes is the most stable. Motor current depends on blood viscosity and flow rate. Consequently, the flow rate and pressure difference can be estimated by self-sensing without any need for flowmeter and pressure transducers. .