How Do I Know If I Have A Blood Clot?
When there is damage to the lining of an artery or vein, your body automatically sends blood platelets to the injured area. This releases chemicals that make your blood start to clot. This process envelops the injured artery or vein and facilitates healing .
Doctors call a blood clot a “thrombus.” A thrombus can also begin if blood is obstructed and remains stagnant. When blood “back ups” in a blood vessel, blood clot formation can become dangerous. Once formed, blood clots can start traveling through the blood vessels and keep other organs from getting what they need to continue functioning.
The type of blood clot known as a pulmonary embolism can be especially life-threatening. A pulmonary embolism is a clot that travels to the lungs where it can cause tissue death or a condition called hypoxia (which is a form of oxygen starvation).
Thrombi are classified in several different ways.
Venous thrombus (or, in the plural: thrombi) These are clots that occur in a vein. They usually happen when you become immobilized and your blood doesn’t circulate properly. In other words it’s not getting any help from muscles that normally contract and facilitate the movement of blood back to the heart. Your blood stagnates in certain areas. Over time, tiny blood clots form and begin to grow. Eventually, these clots block blood flow even more, which contributes to additional growth.
Venous thrombi tend to occur in the following circumstances .
When you are confined to a hospital or bedridden after an sickness or a surgical procedure.
You have to sit in one spot for many hours without moving much during travel. This is one of the reasons it’s important to take breaks often if you’re on a long driving trip, or to get up and walk of stretch if you’re on an airplane..
Injuries in which you must remain in one place or a part of your body has been put in a cast.
You’re pregnant, because your growing baby may restrict the flow of blood in certain veins.
You’re born with a genetic condition in which the blood clots faster than it should. When this happens, you are said to be “hypercoagulable.”
Arterial thrombi are blood clots that form in an artery. Usually, they are not caused by an injury or immobilization like venous thrombi. Arterial thrombi form because plaque has built up on the wall of an artery. The artery becomes constricted, and blood flow is obstructed.
An arterial thrombus can also happen because of a rupture. A clot forms at the site of the rupture and obstructs blood flow even more.
You’re at risk for arterial thrombi if you have diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol, you are a smoker, or you have had circulatory problems in your family.
Blood clot treatment usually entails taking anti-coagulation medications like warfarin (Coumadin). This, however, usually takes about a week to work. If the situation is more urgent, your doctor may recommend injections of a drug known as enoxaparin or Lovenox.
