Mayo Clinic Health Manager
Get free personalized health guidance for you and your family.
Get Started
About our e-newsletters
- Free e-newsletters
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- We do not share your e-mail address
Housecall, our weekly general-interest e-newsletter, keeps you up to date on a wide variety of health topics with timely, reliable, practical information, recipes, blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts and more. Our biweekly topic-specific e-newsletters also include blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts, and other useful information that will help you manage your health.
Housecall Archives
Mayo Clinic Housecall
Stay up to date on the latest health information.
What you get
- Free weekly e-newsletter
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- Recipes, tools and other helpful information
- We do not share your e-mail address
Definition
By Mayo Clinic staffVon Willebrand disease is a condition that involves extended or excessive bleeding. It's the most common inherited bleeding condition.
The cause of von Willebrand disease is a deficiency in or impairment of a protein called von Willebrand factor, an important component in your blood clotting process. In general, it takes longer for people with von Willebrand disease to form clots and stop bleeding when they're cut.
Treatment of von Willebrand disease focuses on stopping or preventing bleeding episodes, typically by using medications. With the right treatment, people with von Willebrand disease can lead normal, healthy lives.
- Rick ME. Clinical presentation and diagnosis of von Willebrand disease. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index. Accessed Dec. 12, 2008.
- Nichols WL, et al. von Willebrand disease (VWD): Evidence-based diagnosis and management guidelines. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) expert panel report (USA). Haemophilia. 2008;14:171.
- von Willebrand Disease. National Hemophilia Foundation. http://www.hemophilia.org/NHFWeb/MainPgs/MainNHF.aspx?menuid=182&contentid=47&rptname=bleeding. Accessed Dec. 12, 2008.
- von Willebrand Disease. National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/vWD/vWD_WhatIs.html. Accessed Dec. 12, 2008.
- Rick, ME. Treatment of von Willebrand disease. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index. Accessed Dec. 12, 2008.
- Lobo RA. Abnormal uterine bleeding: Ovulatory and anovulatory dysfunctional uterine bleeding, management of acute and chronic excessive bleeding. In: Katz VL, et al., eds. Comprehensive Gynecology. 5th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Mosby; 2007:915.
- Halperin D, et al. Influence of antidepressants on hemostasis. Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience. 2007;9:47.
- Ashrani AA (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. Jan. 5, 2009.
