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(Circulation. 2005;112:e39-e44.)
© 2005 American Heart Association, Inc.

Cardiology Patient Page

Antiphospholipid Antibodies

Caron P. Misita, PharmD; Stephan Moll, MD

From the Carolina Cardiovascular Biology Center, Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology-Oncology, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill.

Correspondence to Stephan Moll, MD, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology–Oncology, CB 7035, Chapel Hill, NC 27599. E-mail smoll@med.unc.edu

An extract of the first 250 words of the full text is provided, because this article has no abstract.

	Introduction

 
Antiphospholipid antibodies (APLAs) are proteins that may be present in the blood and may increase your risk for blood clots or pregnancy losses. If you have a history of blood clots or recurrent pregnancy losses, you may have been tested for the presence of APLAs in your blood. The purpose of this Cardiology Patient Page is to provide information for persons with APLAs about the disorder and appropriate treatment.

	What Are APLAs?

 
Definition
Substances in the blood, called phospholipids, are required for the blood to clot. In some people, the body mistakenly identifies phospholipids, or proteins bound to the phospholipids, as foreign substances and forms antibodies against them. This reaction can be viewed as a confusion of the immune system, called an autoimmune process. These antibodies are called APLAs. Their presence can lead to blood clots and/or pregnancy loss. However, in some people, they do not cause any problems. Only if a person has had a blood clot or pregnancy loss and a test for APLAs that has been positive more than once, measured at least 6 weeks apart, does one refer to the person as having the antiphospholipid antibody syndrome (APLA syndrome) (Table 1).

View this table: [in this window] [in a new window]   TABLE 1. Sapporo Criteria for Diagnosing APLA Syndrome

There are many subgroups of APLAs (Table 2). The ones most relevant to our discussion are anticardiolipin antibodies (ACAs) and lupus anticoagulant. The presence of these antibodies leads to an increased risk of blot clots and/or pregnancy loss. The significance of the other APLAs listed in Table . . . [Full Text of this Article]