Heparin therapy. Regimens and treatment considerations

Heparin is a parenteral antithrombotic agent with efficacy in the treatment and prevention of venous thromboembolic disease and in preinfarctional angina. Accumulating evidence also suggests that heparin is useful in the prevention of coronary artery reocclusion after thrombolytic therapy for acute myocardial infarction, and in the prevention of left ventricular mural thrombosis after anterior wall myocardial infarction. Heparin appears to offer only marginal benefit in reducing mortality when given in combination with thrombolytic therapy and aspirin for acute myocardial infarction. When used for prevention of venous thromboembolism in moderate risk patients, heparin should be given subcutaneously in a dose of 5000 U every 12 hours for 5 to 7 days or until the patient is ambulatory. In higher risk patients, such as those undergoing total hip replacement, heparin should be given subcutaneously every 12 hours in a dose to prolong the activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT) by 4 to 5 seconds into the upper normal range. When used to treat active venous thromboembolism or the peri-infarctional state, heparin should be given by intravenous infusion with loading and maintenance doses to consistently prolong the aPTT to between 1.5- and 2.5-fold the control value (mean of laboratory's normal range). If constant intravenous infusion is not possible, the drug should be given subcutaneously every 12 hours to consistently prolong the aPTT between 1.5 and 2.5 times control. This regimen is also recommended in pregnant women with venous thromboembolic disease or mechanical heart valves.