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Causes and Risk Factors | NHLBI, NIH

  • ️Mon Aug 07 2023

Your Genes , or other causes such as medical conditions or medicines, can cause bleeding disorders. Sometimes, it may be impossible to know the cause. Any problem that affects the function or number of clotting factors or platelets can lead to a bleeding disorder.

To diagnose a bleeding disorder, your healthcare provider will consider your symptoms, risk factors, medical and family history, and diagnostic tests. Once your provider identifies the type of bleeding disorder you have, they will work with you to create a treatment plan that fits your medical needs.

Genetics

Bleeding disorders can be caused by genes that are passed down from your parents. Your genes provide instructions for how to make each clotting factor. If there is a mutation in the gene, then the clotting factor may form incorrectly in your body or not at all.

Inheritance pattern for hemophilia in which the mother is a carrier
Inheritance pattern for hemophilia in which the mother is a carrier. In this example, the father does not have hemophilia. He has two normal chromosomes, X and Y. The mother is a carrier of hemophilia, because she has one hemophilia gene on one X chromosome and one normal X chromosome. Each daughter has a 50% chance of inheriting the hemophilia gene from her mother and being a carrier. Each son has a 50% chance of having hemophilia.
Inheritance pattern for hemophilia in which the father has hemophilia
Inheritance pattern for hemophilia in which the father has hemophilia. In this example, the mother is not a hemophilia carrier and has two normal X chromosomes. None of the children will have hemophilia. Each daughter will inherit the hemophilia gene from her father and be a carrier.

Other causes

Medical conditions, procedures, or medicines can cause bleeding disorders. Some medical conditions and medicines that lead to bleeding disorders cause your body to produce proteins, called antibodies or inhibitors, that can block clotting factors.

Other medical conditions may cause your body to stop making clotting factors or to make too little of them. Certain medical devices or procedures can also affect clotting factors, because blood flow through the area can be affected.