Advanced Clotting Blood Test
Advanced Clotting Blood Test
Advanced Clotting Blood Test
Advanced Clotting Blood Test, from our experts to you.
Dr Sam Rodgers MBBS, MRCGP

Chief Medical Officer

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What is an
Advanced Clotting Blood Test?

Clotting blood tests can monitor people who have a condition that affects their clotting ability or who are taking anticoagulants (medications that decrease the ability of your blood to clot).

Some conditions can affect your clotting ability by preventing your blood from clotting, causing your blood to clot too easily, or causing blood clots to remain in your body for too long. Our advanced test also includes an FBC to assess your platelet count.

What can I learn
from this test?

Our Advanced Blood Clotting Test evaluates the clotting tendency of your blood and the time it takes for clots to form. We use the standard measures of prothrombin time, APTT, and the International Normalised Ratio (INR).

What could
my results mean?

A raised platelet count (clotting cells) may indicate an elevated risk of clots forming in your blood, while a low count may mean that you bruise easily or suffer from uncontrolled bleeding. In rare cases, low fibrinogen levels (a protein that aids in forming blood clots) may indicate excessive clotting, such as disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC).

Read more about the main functions of blood in our blog, what is blood and what does it do?

What's Included?

Clotting status
Red blood cells
White blood cells
Select profile for more information
Platelet count Platelets or clotting cells are the smallest type of blood cell. They are formed in the bone marrow and are important in blood clotting. When bleeding occurs, the platelets swell, clump together and form a sticky plug (a clot) which helps stop the bleeding.
MPV MPV, or Mean Platelet Volume, is a measurement of the average size of your platelets. Platelets are fragmented cells within the blood that aid the process of clot formation. MPV provides an indication of platelet production in your bone marrow.
PT Prothrombin is a plasma protein produced by the liver. A prothrombin time test measures how long it takes for the blood to clot. Clotting is caused by a series of clotting factors activating each other, including the conversion of prothrombin to thrombin.
APTT APTT, or Activated Partial Thromboplastin Time measures the speed at which blood clots in the body are formed, through a route known as the intrinsic pathway.
Fibrinogen
INR The international normalised ratio (INR) is a laboratory measurement of how long it takes for blood to form a clot. This can be useful to be able to determine the effects of anticoagulants such as warfarin on the clotting system.
Haemoglobin Haemoglobin is a protein in red blood cells which carries oxygen around the body and gives the blood its red colour. This test measures the amount of haemoglobin in the blood and is a good measure of the blood's ability to carry oxygen around the body.
Haematocrit HCT (haematocrit) measures the amount of space (volume) within the blood that is taken up by red blood cells.
Red cell count Red Blood Cell (RBC) Count analyses the number of red blood cells in the blood. Red blood cells carry oxygen from the lungs to the rest of the body, where it can be used to fuel energy processes such as movement and respiration. They also carry carbon dioxide produced from cells back to the lungs so that it can be exhaled.
MCV MCV (mean corpuscular volume) reflects the average size of your red blood cells. This is important to measure, as it can indicate how much oxygen your cells are likely to be transporting around the body.
MCH MCH (mean corpuscular haemoglobin) measures the average amount of haemoglobin contained in one of your red blood cells.
MCHC MCHC (mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration) is the average concentration of haemoglobin in your red blood cells. Haemoglobin is a molecule which allows red blood cells to transport oxygen around the body.
RDW Red blood cell distribution width (RDW) indicates whether your red blood cells are all the same size, or different sizes or shapes. Normally cells are fairly uniform both in size and in shape, but some blood disorders may cause your red blood cells to form in abnormal sizes. This test measures the difference between the largest and the smallest red blood cell.
White cell count White Blood Cell (WBC) Count measures the number of white blood cells in the blood. White blood cells are key to your body's immune system. They fight infections and protect your body from foreign invaders such as harmful germs and bacteria. Additionally, they produce many antibodies and memory cells to protect you from further infections with the same germ.
Neutrophils Neutrophils are the most abundant type of white blood cell in the body and are responsible for helping your body fight infection. When a germ is initially detected by the body, neutrophils are the defence system which go out and attack the germ before any of your other white blood cells. When neutrophils are low you can be more vulnerable to illness and infection.
Lymphocytes Lymphocytes are a type of white blood cell which fight bacterial and viral infections. They are the subset of white blood cells involved in the more specific response to infections, which can identify and differentiate between different foreign organisms that enter the body. As well as fighting infection, they produce antibodies and memory cells to help to prevent future infections from the same germ. Lymphocytes include T cells, B cells and natural killer cells.
Monocytes Monocytes are a type of white blood cell that surround and destroy germs and dead or damaged cells from the blood. The heat and swelling that you feel when a body part is inflamed, for example after a cut on your finger, is caused by the activities of these cells.
Eosinophils Eosinophils are a type of white blood cell that are responsible for removing parasitic infections and regulating inflammation to mark an infected site. They also play a role in allergy and in asthma.
Basophils Basophils are a type of white blood cell that protect your body from bacteria and parasites such as ticks. They also play a role in allergic reactions.