What Does Heparin IU Mean?

Heparin is an anticoagulant drug used to prolong the coagulation time of whole blood in the treatment and prevention of blood clots in the veins, arteries and lungs. Bleeding precautions must be observed to avoid hemorrhage when taking heparin.

Conditions

• Heparin is the usual drug of choice in treating conditions such as pulmonary embolism, deep vein thrombosis, myocardial infarction and angina pectoris. Heparin can also be used to maintain the patency of intravenous access devices such as heparin locks and ports by preventing blood from clotting in the device when not in active use.

International Units

• Vitamin E is also measured in IUs.

  Heparin is measured in International Units (IU) instead of milligrams. One IU of heparin is defined as being the required amount of solution to prolong the clotting of 1 ml of whole blood for three minutes.

No Equivalency

• Other medications such as vitamins may be measured in International Units as well, but there is no equivalency between them. Each medication is standardized according to its own unique characteristics and actions.

Concentrations

• Heparin comes in several different concentrations. It is labeled according to the units per ml and is prescribed by body weight. For instance, heparin can be manufactured in concentrations such as 10 IU/ml, 100 IU/ml and 5,000 IU/ml.

Read Labels Carefully

• The 10 IU/ml is most commonly used in pediatrics and the 5,000 IU/ml in adults. A 1 ml (or cc) injection of each strength would deliver very different amounts of heparin. It is extremely important to double-check the label and the order. An error can be fatal.

Changes in Potency

• Due to issues with heparin contamination discovered in 2007 and 2008, the Food and Drug Administration has decreased the potency of heparin by about 10 percent effective October 2009. Prescriptions may be changed to reflect this difference as the new heparin hits the market.