It must be given parenterally since it is not effectively absorbed from the GI tract. No other anticoagulant developed has been shown to be as effective. Therefore, heparin therapy must be individualized. T he distinction between anticoagulant and antithrombotic and which action heparin performs requires some clarification. Anticoagulant and antithrombotic can be the same, but there are times when they are not and that distinction can be important.
Anticoagulants prolong clotting times, heparin is an anticoagulant.
Hypothermia can be considered an anticoagulant because clot formation rate is slowed, however, thrombin is still formed and there is nothing done via cooling to bind or inhibit the thrombin, therefore thrombin can further amplify clot formation. A lternate methods for monitoring heparin therapy are gaining considerable interest due to questions that have been raised as to the correlation between therapeutic effects versus proper anticoagulation monitoring. Tests that reflect the in vivo generation of thrombin. Correlating the heparin effect to heparin concentration T itrating the dose of the drug is advocated by those who want to measure actual heparin concentration in the blood. Others choose the method of plasma assays, assuming they represent the in vivo pharmacologic affects of the drug.