How Blood Thinners Help Those with DVT
October 3, 2021 • zburt • DVT • Vein Disease
When clots form within your deep veins, you have deep vein thrombosis (DVT). This is a dangerous issue that can be uncomfortable or may have no symptoms. One of the most common treatments for DVT is to take blood thinners to help stop new blood clots from thinning and may slow the growth of existing clots.
Why do Varicose Veins Get Blood Clots?
There are a number of reasons you could end up with blood clots. Anything that stops the blood from flowing in a normal way could cause a blood clot. The top causes for DVT include damage caused to a vein during surgery, inflammation due to injury or trauma to the area. There are many risk factors that could increase your chances of developing DVT. Having multiple risk factors increases the chances of developing DVT even further. These risk factors include:- Older than 60
- Long periods of sitting
- Prolonged bed rest
- Injury to the veins
- Being overweight
- Surgery
- Pregnancy
- Genetics
- Hormone replacement therapy
- Oral contraceptives
- Smoking
- Heart failure
- Cancer
- Inflammatory bowel disease (like ulcerative colitis or Crohn’s)
Why Blood Clots are Dangerous
Blood clots to prevent too much blood loss. Usually, blood clots dissolve on their own. If a blood clot breaks apart or breaks through and goes into a heart valve, it could cause heart failure. It could also get stuck in the lungs and cause a pulmonary embolism. This means that the blood clots can stop blood flow in ways that are life threatening and should be taken seriously.Symptoms of DVT
In some cases, DVT has no symptoms. But, the typical symptoms include:- Throbbing pain and cramping, usually in the calf
- Red or discolored skin
- Swelling on the leg (rarely will both be affected)
- A warm area on the leg