Treatment Options For Polycythemia Vera

Low-Dose Acetylsalicylic Acid

Acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) has long been used to treat fever, inflammation, and pain. It can reduce the risk of blood clots by preventing platelets from sticking together, which is why acetylsalicylic acid is often recommended to individuals who have a high risk of experiencing a stroke or heart attack.

Pharmacists make acetylsalicylic acid tablets in standardized sizes. A typical tablet for an adult will be three hundred milligrams, and low-dose acetylsalicylic acid tablets can be seventy-five or eighty-one milligrams. The dosage required will depend on the patient's weight; the heavier a patient is, the higher the dosage they will need. A doctor treating polycythemia vera will want to regulate the patient’s hematocrit or ratio of red blood cells to total blood cell volume. A woman’s hematocrit should be below .42, and a man’s hematocrit should be under .45.

Other medications used to treat polycythemia vera include pegylated interferon, ruxolitinib, and hydroxyurea. The doctor will try acetylsalicylic acid first, however, and then recommend one of the other medications if it doesn’t have the desired results.

Keep reading now to discover additional options for treating polycythemia vera.