🩸 Anticoagulant Review Part 1: Heparin Anticoagulants (aka blood thinners) help prevent clots from forming or growing larger by interrupting the clotting cascade. As a nursing student, heparin is a must-know! Follow @nursewellversed for visual nursing education 🧠 ➡️ How it works: Inactivates thrombin & Factor Xa ➡️ Short-term use only: Given subQ or IV ➡️ Monitor labs: aPTT (clotting time) Platelets (watch for HIT) ✅ Antidote: Protamine sulfate 🩸 Bleeding Risk: Bleeding is the #1 side effect