What are the symptoms of APS?

APS can cause both low-grade symptoms and potentially fatal events as a result of blood clots.

In pregnancy, APS is the most common, potentially treatable cause of recurrent miscarriage and is also associated with other complications such as pre-eclampsia, low-weight babies and stillbirth.

Some people are affected by symptoms more than others. In contrast, others have antiphospholipid antibodies (aPL) in their blood but do not develop any blood clots, experience pregnancy complications or display any symptoms at all. As of yet, we don’t know the reason why these anomalies exist because so much research still needs to be carried out.

The typical low-grade symptoms of APS are:

• headaches and migraines
• memory problems
• dizziness and balance difficulties
• cognitive (thought) difficulties
• joint pain
• fatigue

The common acute events caused by APS are:

• deep vein thrombosis (DVT)
• stroke and mini-stroke (TIA - Transient Ischaemic Attack)
• heart attack
• pulmonary embolism (PE) or blood clot on the lung
• recurrent miscarriages

As APS is a blood disorder and blood flows throughout the entire body, nearly any organ can be affected. Consequently, the brain, eyes, ears, lungs, heart, kidneys, liver, bowel, skin, nails, bones and joints can all be affected to varying degrees.

Remember - it is NOT necessary to have all the symptoms to be diagnosed with APS.