Blood clots can affect anyone at any age, but certain risk factors, such as surgery, hospitalization, pregnancy, cancer and some types of cancer treatments can increase risks. In addition, a family history of blood clots can increase a person's risk. The chance of a blood clot increases when you have more risk factors.
Your risk for blood clots also increases with older age, a family history of DVT, a previous DVT, cancer, certain genes, COVID-19, heart failure, obesity, pregnancy, sickle cell disease, smoking, spinal cord injury, stroke, untreated varicose veins, and use of birth control pills or hormone replacement therapy.
Excessive clotting (thrombophilia) occurs when the blood clots too easily or excessively. Inherited and acquired disorders can increase blood clotting. Clots cause legs or arms to swell.
Effect of Stress on Blood Vessels
But anxiety can also increase blood pressure, putting additional stress on the blood vessel walls, making them stiffer and decreasing the amount of blood that flows through the body. Combined these forces can lead to serious blood clots that can cause blockages in the heart and lungs.
Clotting is often caused by long periods of inactivity, so practicing a regular exercise routine can help you reduce your risk of clots and other conditions related to blood clots, such as diabetes and obesity.
The Importance of Exercise if You Have DVT
Aerobic activity -- things like walking, hiking, swimming, dancing, and jogging -- can also help your lungs work better after a pulmonary embolism.
As keeping blood moving to all areas of the body helps prevent blood clot formation, simple movements and stretches can help reduce the risk for deep vein thrombosis, allowing for healthy habits during work from home periods.
While sitting, flex your calves and ankles at frequent intervals. If you're traveling long distance by car, it's a good idea to stop every 60 to 90 minutes and take a short walk. This will stimulate your leg muscles and get your blood flowing, which in turn lowers the risk of blood pooling and clotting.
Blood-thinning medications are commonly used to prevent blood clots from forming or getting bigger. Thrombolytic medications can break up existing clots.
In rare cases, compression socks that are too tight may cause superficial venous thrombosis. These superficial blood clots occur in veins close to the skin's surface and are less likely to cause complications.
Thrombolytics. Thrombolytics are drugs that dissolve blood clots. A doctor may give a thrombolytic intravenously, or they may use a catheter in the vein, which will allow them to deliver the drug directly to the site of the clot.
Often, blood clots will have no signs until they cause a pulmonary embolism. Sometimes a blood clot in the leg will feel like a pulled muscle, while one in your lung may feel like someone is sitting on your chest, preventing you from breathing.
It's also worth mentioning that the most common symptom after a blood clot is exhaustion and fatigue. So, be kind to yourself and rest when you need to. For the first couple of months, you might not feel like yourself; you might feel like resting is all you can do, and that's okay because that's part of this disease.
DVT can occur suddenly (acute), leading to an urgent or emergency situation. Or it can be a chronic condition, with blood clots gradually causing circulation problems, usually in the lower body. Chronic blood clots can lead to venous insufficiency, when your body has difficulty returning blood to your heart.
If your blood clot occurred as a result of surgery or trauma, and the risk factor was considered temporary, then your risk of having another DVT or PE may be very low. If your blood clot occurred spontaneously, without any risk factors being present, your risk of another clot is 30 percent over the next ten years.
Some cancers pose a greater risk for blood clots, including cancers involving the pancreas, stomach, brain, lungs, uterus, ovaries, and kidneys, as well as blood cancers, such as lymphoma and myeloma. The higher your cancer stage, the greater your risk for a blood clot.
Clinical trials provide several recommendations for adults with blood clots. Adults with a first provoked blood clot should take blood thinners for 3-6 months. Adults with a first unprovoked blood clot generally should take blood thinner for 6-12 months.
Unfortunately, the blood thinners used to prevent such blood clots can increase the risk of bleeding in the brain, a cause of hemorrhagic stroke.
Your goal is to walk for 30 to 45 minutes, 5 to 7 days per week. A resource for patients developed by the North American Thrombosis Forum. were prescribed medication to treat your DVT, such as an anticoagulant, please be sure to take your medication as directed. There are many reasons why someone might develop a DVT.
Break up long periods of sitting
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend that you stand, stretch (feet, ankles, and legs), and move around every 2 to 3 hours if possible to prevent a clot from forming.