Von Willebrand Disease is the most common hereditary bleeding disorder; roughly 1 in every 100 people suffers from the disease. People who suffer from VWD have blood that does not clot properly.  Normally when a person is injured and starts to bleed, the von Willebrand factor in the blood attaches to small blood cells called platelets. This helps the platelets stick together to form a clot at the site of the injury and stop bleeding. When a person has VWD, the clot might take longer to form or not form the way it should and bleeding might take longer to stop. This can lead to heavy, hard-to-stop bleeding. Although rare, the bleeding can be severe enough to damage joints or internal organs, or even be life-threatening.  http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/plateletdisorders.html#cat1  http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/vwd/facts.html 

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Health Topics
Von Willebrand Disease

2. 1
Overview
Von Willebrand Disease is the most
common hereditary bleeding disorder; roughly 1 in
every 100 people suffers from the disease. People
who suffer from VWD have blood that does not
clot properly.

3. 2
Overview
Normally when a person is injured and starts to
bleed, the von Willebrand factor in the blood
attaches to small blood cells called platelets. This
helps the platelets stick together to form a clot at
the site of the injury and stop bleeding. When a
person has VWD, the clot might take longer to
form or not form the way it should and bleeding
might take longer to stop. This can lead to heavy,
hard-to-stop bleeding. Although rare, the bleeding
can be severe enough to damage joints or internal
organ

4. 3
Overview
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/plateletdisor
ders.html#cat1
http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/vwd/facts.html

5. 4
Symptoms
Primary symptoms of Von Willebrand Disease
include:
-- abnormal or heavy menstrual bleeding
-- bleeding of the gums
-- easy bruising

6. 5
Symptoms
-- frequent or hard-to-stop nosebleeds
-- skin rash
Note: Most women with heavy or prolonged
menstrual bleeding do not have Von Willebrand
Disease.
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/plateletdisor
ders.html#cat1

7. 6
Diagnosis
Von Willebrand Disease may be hard to diagnose
because low von Willebrand factors and bleeding
do not always mean you have von Willebrand
disease.
Tests may be done to diagnose this disease
include:
-- Bleeding time

8. 7
Diagnosis
-- Blood typing
-- Factor VII level
-- Platelet aggregation test
-- Platelet count
-- Ristocetin cofactor test

9. 8
Diagnosis
-- Von Willebrand specific tests
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH
0001571/

10. 9
Treatment
**For milder forms of VWD**
: Treatment may include DDAVP (desamino-8-
arginine vasopressin), which is used to raise von
Willebrand factor and reduce the chances of
bleeding. DDAVP is injected into a vein and works
to force the body to release more VWF into the
blood. (DDAVP does not work for all types of von
Willebrand disease, however, so a doctor should
check to determine which type of the disease you
have. )

11. 10
Treatment
**For milder forms of VWD**
A high-strength nasal spray called Stimate is often
used to treat mild forms of VWD. It works to boost
the levels of VWF and factor VIII in the blood. **
**For severe forms of VWD: **

12. 11
Treatment
** **
Drugs like Humate P, Alphanate, and Koate DVI are
injected into a vein in the arm to replace the
missing factor in the blood.
http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/vwd/facts.html

13. 12
Causes
Most people who have VWD are born with it. The
disease is almost always inherited from a parent to
a child.

14. 13
Causes
While uncommon, it is possible for a person to get
VWD without a family history of the disease. This
happens when a "spontaneous mutation" in a
person's genes occurs. Rarely, a person's own
immune system can destroy his or her VWF, often
as a result of a medication or another disease.
National Heart Lung and Blood Institute