What are the anticoagulant effects of heparin?
Heparin has several anticoagulant effects, including binding to antithrombin (AT) and catalyzing the inactivation of thrombin and factors IIa, Xa, IXa, XIa, and XIIa, binding to heparin cofactor II (HCII) and catalyzing inactivation of factor IIa, and binding to factor IXa and inhibiting factor X activation. These effects require varying concentrations of heparin and are AT- and HCII-independent.