How does lovenox work in the body

Lovenox and heparin are both effective for treating and preventing blood clots. They work in similar ways to allow blood to flow more freely. Preference for one drug over the other depends on cost, side effects, and administration. Compared to heparin, Lovenox has a longer half-life.

Meaning, it lasts longer and can be administered once daily. Dosing is more predictable with Lovenox, although patients with a high body weight need more frequent dosing, such as one injection two times daily.

In a meta-analysis from the Journal of Thrombosis and Haemostasis , enoxaparin and unfractionated heparin were compared for preventing blood clots in hospitalized patients. Four clinical trials were included in the meta-analysis and evaluated a total of 3, patients.

Results found that, compared to heparin, enoxaparin significantly reduced blood clots without increasing the risk of major bleeding. One caveat to using Lovenox is that its dosage needs to be adjusted in patients with renal failure. Otherwise, there is an increased risk of bleeding. In clinical practice, unfractionated heparin is preferred for people with kidney impairment.

Your doctor will prescribe the best anticoagulant for your condition. The most effective anticoagulant will be determined based on your overall medical history. Most Medicare and insurance plans will cover Lovenox. However, insurance is more likely to cover generic Lovenox, and they might not cover the full cost. Heparin is usually covered by Medicare and insurance plans. It also tends to be less expensive than Lovenox. Get the pharmacy discount card. The most common side effect of Lovenox and heparin is injection site reactions.

After administering Lovenox or heparin injections, you may experience pain, discomfort, irritation, or swelling around the area of injection. However, these side effects tend to be mild and go away on their own. Since Lovenox and heparin prevent blood clots, they may cause bleeding side effects. While using Lovenox or heparin, you may experience more frequent bruising. Anticoagulants can also cause severe bleeding.

Signs of severe bleeding include heavy bruising and blood in the stool or urine. Any specific brand name of this medication may not be available in all of the forms or approved for all of the conditions discussed here. As well, some forms of this medication may not be used for all of the conditions discussed here. Your doctor may have suggested this medication for conditions other than those listed in these drug information articles. If you have not discussed this with your doctor or are not sure why you are being given this medication, speak to your doctor.

Do not stop using this medication without consulting your doctor. Do not give this medication to anyone else, even if they have the same symptoms as you do. It can be harmful for people to use this medication if their doctor has not prescribed it. The solution is preservative-free and intended for use as a single-dose injection. The recommended dose varies according to the individual and the condition being treated. For acute-ST-segment elevation heart attacks, you will receive a single dose of 30 mg of enoxaparin injected into a vein.

Subsequent doses are injected subcutaneously every 12 hours, and are calculated as 1 mg per kilogram of body weight. This is usually continued for 8 days or until release from the hospital. For the treatment of unstable angina or Non-Q-Wave heart attacks, the dose is calculated as 1 mg per kilogram of body weight, injected subcutaneously every 12 hours. To treat deep vein thrombosis DVT , the recommended dose is 1.

If enoxaparin is being used to prevent blood clots when you are having knee or hip replacement surgery , the recommended dose is 30 mg injected subcutaneously every 12 hours, starting 12 to 24 hours after surgery.

This is usually used for 7 to 14 days. To prevent blood clots caused by abdominal, colorectal, gynecological, or urological surgery, the recommended dose is 40 mg injected subcutaneously 2 hours before surgery and continuing once daily for 7 to 10 days. If there is no risk of bleeding, but high risk of developing blood clots, this dose may be continued for up to 4 weeks. To prevent blood clots caused by other medical conditions, such as when you have an illness and have limited ability to move about, the recommended dose is 40 mg injected subcutaneously, once daily.

The use of enoxaparin in these situations is usually short-term 6 to 11 days. To prevent clot formation during hemodialysis, the dose varies depending on your circumstances and the medication will be given by injection into the tubing that carries your blood to the dialysis machine.

Many things can affect the dose of medication that a person needs, such as body weight, other medical conditions, and other medications.

If your doctor has recommended a dose different from the ones listed here, do not change the way that you are using this medication without consulting your doctor. It is important to use this medication exactly as prescribed by your doctor. If you miss an injection, take it as soon as possible and continue with your regular schedule. If it is almost time for your next injection, skip the missed dose and continue with your regular dosing schedule.

Do not inject a double dose to make up for a missed one. How often is imaging needed? Imaging is checked before treatment to diagnose the presence of a blood clot. Typically, if a blood clot is found on any of the above imaging techniques, it is not routinely repeated after starting therapy to see if the blood clot has gone away. Other imaging such as magnetic resonance imaging MRI or computerized tomography CT scans may be checked during treatment if there is a concern for bleeding into certain organs or tissues.

Depending upon the results, your doctor may advise to continue enoxaparin as planned, temporarily hold treatment until the side effect goes away, or switch to an alternative therapy. Adequate kidney function is required to safely dose this medication and to avoid bleeding.

If your kidneys suddenly stop working or you cannot make urine, enoxaparin may be unsafe to continue and an alternative medication may be prescribed example: heparin. A better understanding of your treatments will allow you to ask more questions of your healthcare team. We then hope that with the answers, you will get better results and have greater satisfaction with your care.

Because we know it's not always easy to know what questions to ask, we've tried to make it easy for you! Choose any healthcare provider below to see common questions that you may want to ask of this person. This may cause a heart attack or stroke when they get stuck in blood vessels of the heart or brain. They can also go to the lungs. This makes your blood less likely to form dangerous clots and keeps clots you do have from getting any bigger.

Be aware that it does not break up clots you already have. Enoxaparin is used for many different medical reasons. The length of treatment is different for each person, so it is important to use it as prescribed by your doctor. This medicine may also be prescribed for uses that are not listed below.

DVTs are blood clots that form in the deep veins of the legs or arms.