Some conditions can prevent blood from clotting properly, either causing the blood to clot too quickly or causing blood clots to remain in the body for too long.

Clotting (or coagulation) tests often monitor people taking anticoagulants - medications that decrease the blood's ability to clot. Often, anticoagulant medications are prescribed if you have a heart attack or stroke. People with irregular heartbeats may also take anticoagulants to prevent a first or recurrent stroke.

Our test evaluates the clotting tendency of blood and the time it takes for clots to form using the standard measures of prothrombin time (PT), APTT, and the International Normalised Ratio (INR), which comes from PT. INR typically helps to inform dosage for those taking anticoagulants and to monitor progress over time.