Is it true that d-dimer is only elevated
for a short period of time beginning when
the blood clots initially? I heard it only
stays elevated for 2 weeks after the
initial clot and then goes back to normal,
so if you have a clot that is over 2 weeks
old the d-dimer test will show up normal.
Is this true?
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DoctorAnswer
Doctor Answer
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General Q&A Answer A577 Posted: 03-23-06 13:09pm
No, it is not true that d-dimers are
elevated for a short period of time!
D-dimers are elevated until the clot is
present in the deep veins. D-dimers
originate from the fibrin that is part of
a clot’s structure. A special blood
enzyme, plazmin, dissolves the fibrin...
producing the fibrin’s degradation
products. D-dimers are one of those
products. Plazmin will act as long as
there is fibrin. So L-dimers will be
present as long as whole clot is
dissolved.
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