How Are Blood Clots Treated
The goal in treating blood clots, especially DVTs, is to prevent the blood clot from getting larger or breaking loose. Treatment can reduce your chances of developing more blood clots in the future.
Treatment depends on where the blood clot is and how likely it is to harm you. Your doctor might recommend:
- Medication: Anticoagulants, also called blood thinners, help prevent blood clots from forming. For life-threatening blood clots, drugs called thrombolytics can dissolve clots that are already formed.
- Compression stockings: These tight-fitting stockings provide pressure to help reduce leg swelling or prevent blood clots from forming.
- Surgery: In a catheter-directed thrombolysis procedure, specialists direct a catheter to the blood clot. The catheter delivers medication directly to the clot to help it dissolve. In thrombectomy surgery, doctors use special instruments to carefully remove a blood clot.
- Stents: Doctors may decide if a stent is necessary to keep a blood vessel open.
- Vena cava filters: In some cases, a person might be unable to take blood thinners, and a filter is put into the inferior vena cava to catch blood clots before they can travel to the lungs.
What Should You Know About Living With A Higher Risk Of Blood Clots Or If You Have Already Had A Blood Clot
If you are concerned about your blood clot risk in certain situations, such as when you are traveling or after a surgery, your doctor can give you more information on other habits that can help.
If you are able to walk around while you are traveling, you should make sure you do so at least once every couple of hours. If you are traveling by air, your provider might suggest you wear compression stockings. You can do exercises that move your feet and legs while you are sitting.
If you have a blood clot, your provider might suggest that you take anticoagulants for a certain period of time. Some people may need to take them for life. Make sure you understand how you should take this medication and what types of interactions you should avoid. It is important to have regular follow with a provider who is specifically discussing blood thinner medication with you.
A note from Cleveland Clinic
A blood clot can be serious, even fatal. If you know you are at risk for blood clots, you can help yourself by moving around, by eating well and maintaining a healthy weight and following your healthcare providers suggestions on medication and lifestyle changes.
Last reviewed by a Cleveland Clinic medical professional on 09/24/2020.
References
What Should I Do If I Have Symptoms Of Coronary Artery Disease
Because the symptoms of coronary artery disease can be symptoms of a heart attack, you need to seek immediate help. if you think you are having symptoms of a heart attack.
If a blood clot in a coronary artery has broken loose and moved into your brain, it can cause a stroke, although this is rare. Symptoms of a stroke include:
- Drooping on one side of your face. Look at your smile in a mirror or ask someone to check your smile.
- Arm weakness or numbness.
- Difficulty speaking/slurred speech.
If you experience any of these symptoms, CALL 911. Every minute you spend without treatment increases your risk of long-term damage.
You May Like: How Much Blood Does An Adult Heart Pump Every Day
Also Check: What I Felt Before My Heart Attack
What Happens During A Heart Attack
During a heart attack, blood flow to the heart muscle is blocked. This is most commonly due to coronary artery disease.
Discover how the heart works, how risk factors contribute to a heart attack and the importance of reducing your risk factors.
After having a heart attack treated in hospital, it’s easy to think that the problem has been dealt with – the heart attack is over and done with. However, a heart attack is usually a symptom of an underlying heart health problem like coronary artery disease .
When Will Patients Benefit From These Data
The next step in taking the data from this trial into the clinical setting is to do further testing and analysis. One long-term goal is to determine which combination of drugs is most effective for particular populations. For example, individuals with additional risk factors for heart attack, such as a history of smoking or having had a previous heart attack, might require a different dosage or drug combination than a person who has a family history of heart attack but no other personal risk factors.
As further, more focused testing is conducted, well learn more about combination anti-clot medications and how we can personalize them based on a patients individual cardiovascular health history and heart attack risk. In the meantime, continue to work with your doctor to find the safest, most effective drug combination to help protect yourself from a heart attack.
To talk with a preventive cardiologist about managing your heart attack risk, request an appointment online or call .
Also Check: How Long Does Heart Bypass Surgery Take
What Are The Risk Factors For Heart And Vascular Disease
For the most part, a single action or choice does not ultimately cause any of these outcomes. They mostly happen as a result of a variety of diseases that cause narrowed or blocked blood vessels.
People have varying levels of risk for both heart disease and vascular diseases, so it is important to discuss your risk with your primary care provider, Frakes said. To name a few, some common risk factors include age, family history of heart disease, a history of unhealthy diets and lifestyles, uncontrolled high blood pressure, uncontrolled diabetes and smoking.
Furthermore, Tong mentions people with high cholesterol, men and African-Americans are also at higher risk.
How Do I Take Care Of Myself After A Silent Heart Attack
After you go home from the hospital, youll need to keep taking the medicines your provider ordered for you. Its important that you keep taking these medications. Some may be necessary for the rest of your life.
Types of medications may include:
Unfortunately, its possible to have another heart attack once youve already had one. This is why its important to keep taking your medications and follow your providers instructions. Cardiac rehabilitation, which combines education and exercise, can be helpful as well.
Read Also: Symptoms Of End Stage Heart Failure
What Causes A Heart Attack
The most common cause of a heart attack is coronary artery disease, which is the most common type of heart disease. This is when your coronary arteriescannot carry enough oxygen-rich blood to your heart muscle. Most of the time, coronary artery disease happens when a waxy substance called Plaque builds up inside your arteries, causing the arteries to narrow. The buildup of this plaque is called atherosclerosis. This can happen over many years, and it can block blood flow to parts of your heart muscle. Plaques that narrow arteries slowly over time cause angina.
Eventually, an area of plaque can break open inside your artery. This causes a blood clots to form on the plaques surface. If the clot becomes large enough, it can block blood flow to your heart. If the blockage isnt treated quickly, a part of your heart muscle begins to die.
Figure A shows damage caused by a heart attack. Figure B shows the coronary artery with plaque buildup and a blood clot.
How Do Blood Clots Form
Blood has the ability to clot, which is important to stop excessive bleeding in the case of an injury, such as a cut. In these instances, a blood clot forms to seal up the wound and stop the bleeding.
However, unwanted blood clots can form within the circulatory system as a result of atherosclerosis. This is the process by which plaques that are made up of fat, cholesterol, calcium and other substances build up in the walls of the arteries.
Over time, these plaques harden, narrow the opening of the arteries and restrict the blood flow. If these plaques break open, they form a blood clot that can further limit or even block the flow of blood to organs and other parts of the body.
Atherosclerosis is the main underlying cause of cardiovascular disease . If it occurs in the arteries that supply blood to the heart, it can result in a heart attack. If it occurs in one of the arteries to the brain, it can cause a stroke. If it occurs in arteries in the limbs, it can lead to peripheral artery disease.
Recommended Reading: Can Heart Failure Be Reversed
Symptoms Of A Blood Clot In The Heart
Blood clots can happen anywhere in the body and cause severe problems. But when they occur in the heart, the clots can cut off critical blood flow and result in a heart attack.
The heart is a less common location for a blood clot, but it can still happen. A blood clot in the heart could cause symptoms like:
When clots develop in the heart itself, its called coronary artery thrombosis. These clots usually occur when fatty tissues that form in the hearts arteries break off and block blood flow to the cardiac tissues. When this blood flow is stopped, the heart tissues cant get oxygen and other nutrients.
Other Types Of Blood Clot
As well as arterial thrombosis, there are several other types of blood clot, including:
- venous thromboembolism a blood clot in a vein
- DVT a blood clot in one of the deep veins in the body, usually in the leg
- embolism where the blood flow in an artery is blocked by a foreign body this can be a blood clot or something else such as an air bubble
- pulmonary embolism a blood clot in the pulmonary artery, which transports blood from the heart to the lungs
Page last reviewed: 09 January 2020 Next review due: 09 January 2023
Don’t Miss: Congestive Heart Failure Swollen Feet Treatment
What Is Venous Thromboembolism
Deep Vein Thrombosis and Pulmonary Embolism are often underdiagnosed and serious, but preventable medical conditions.
Deep vein thrombosis is a medical condition that occurs when a blood clot forms in a deep vein. These clots usually develop in the lower leg, thigh, or pelvis, but they can also occur in the arm.
It is important to know about DVT because it can happen to anybody and can cause serious illness, disability, and in some cases, death. The good news is that DVT is preventable and treatable if discovered early.
Venous thromboembolism , a term referring to blood clots in the veins, is an underdiagnosed and serious, yet preventable medical condition that can cause disability and death.
The American Society of Hematology recognizes the need for a comprehensive set of guidelines on the treatment of VTE to help the medical community better manage this serious condition. In partnership with the McMaster University GRADE Centre, ASH brought together experts to address this challenge, including hematologists, other clinicians, guideline development specialists, and patient representatives. In November 2018, ASH announced the results of their collective efforts the 2018 ASH Clinical Practice Guidelines on Venous Thromboembolism. Access the new guidelines.
How Can I Reduce My Risk
There are several circumstances or health conditions that can increase your risk for this condition. Managing them can help reduce your chance of developing thrombosis and the dangerous conditions that can follow. The circumstances you can influence include:
- Blood pressure.
- Your level of physical activity.
Read Also: Heart Rate Too High When Exercising
Could Spike Protein In Moderna Pfizer Vaccines Cause Blood Clots Brain Inflammation And Heart Attacks
LifeSiteNews has been permanently banned on YouTube. Click HERE to sign up to receive emails when we add to our video library.
April 14, 2021 On Dec. 8, 2020, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee received a public submission from J. Patrick Whelan, M.D., Ph.D. The submission was in response to the agencys request for comments regarding vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 in advance of the Dec. 10 meeting when the committee would review the Pfizer/BioNTech SARS-CoV-2 vaccine for emergency use authorization .
Whelans training includes degrees in biochemistry, medicine and rheumatology. For 20 years, he worked as a pediatric rheumatologist. He currently specializes in treating children with multisystem inflammatory syndrome , which has been associated with coronavirus infections.
In his public submission, Whelan sought to alert the FDA about the potential for vaccines designed to create immunity to the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein to instead cause injuries.
Specifically, Whelan was concerned that the new mRNA vaccine technology utilized by Pfizer and Moderna has the potential to cause microvascular injury to the brain, heart, liver and kidneys in ways that were not assessed in the safety trials.
Why was Whelan worried about the mRNA vaccines causing blood clots and inflammation?
Here is what we currently know about the impact of the virus outside the lungs.
Cardiovascular complications from COVID-19
Treatments include:
What Are The Most Common Symptoms Of A Blood Clot
Blood clot symptoms will depend on where a clot forms in your body. Some people may experience no symptoms at all. Blood clots can occur in the:
- Abdomen: Blood clots in the belly area can cause pain or nausea and vomiting.
- Arms or legs: A blood clot in the leg or arm may feel painful or tender to the touch. Swelling, redness and warmth are other common signs of blood clots.
- Brain: Blood clots in the brain can cause a range of symptoms, depending which part of the brain they affect. These clots may cause problems speaking or seeing, inability to move or feel one side of your body and sometimes seizure.
- Heart or lungs: A blood clot in the heart will cause symptoms of a heart attack such as crushing chest pain, sweating, pain that travels down the left arm, and/or shortness of breath. A blood clot in the lungs can cause chest pain, difficulty breathing, and sometimes can lead to coughing up blood.
Recommended Reading: Does Higher Heart Rate Burn More Calories
How Do I Take Care Of Myself
Because thrombosis is usually a short-lived condition, its not something youll likely have to live with for very long. However, many people have conditions or circumstances that put them at risk for developing thrombosis, and some of those conditions are life-long.
The best thing you can do if youre at risk of developing thrombosis is to prevent it from happening. That means seeing a healthcare provider regularly, taking prescribed medications, taking care of your overall health and watching for symptoms that indicate you have a problem.
Types Of Cardiovascular Disease
Cardiovascular disease covers a number of conditions that are related to lifestyle, including:
- coronary heart disease either angina or heart attack
- stroke either caused by a blockage with a blood clot or the rupturing of a blood vessel and bleeding
- peripheral vascular disease obstruction of the large blood vessels that supply blood to the arms and legs.
Cardiovascular disease conditions that are not related to lifestyle, include:
- acute rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease caused by an untreated infection with group A streptococcus bacteria
- congenital heart disease inherited conditions that affect the structure of the heart.
Also Check: What Does Mild Heart Attack Feel Like
Can You Have Another Heart Attack
After having a heart attack, you are at risk of having another one. Many people do not recognise their next heart attack, as it may feel different to the first one.
If you think you may be having a heart attack and you have already had one:
- Stop and rest. Tell someone how you feel
- If you take angina medication and the symptoms have not been relieved within 10 minutes, or if the symptoms are severe or getting worse,
- Dial 111 and ask for an ambulance. If instructed and aspirin is available, take one.
Causes Of Coronary Heart Disease And Stroke
Healthy blood vessels are flexible, but with age and unhealthy lifestyle choices, they can become thickened and stiff, and this can restrict blood flow around the body. This process is known as arteriosclerosis and is commonly called hardening of the arteries.Atherosclerosis is a form of arteriosclerosis that involves a build-up of fatty substances and cellular waste . These can either partially or totally block blood vessels, or the plaque can break open and trigger a blood clot that also blocks blood flow. Atherosclerosis can occur anywhere in the body. For example, when it occurs in the vessels leading to your arms and legs, it can cause peripheral vascular disease .When the process of atherosclerosis occurs in the arteries that supply blood to your heart muscle , it can trigger angina or a heart attack.When this process occurs in arteries supplying blood to the brain, the arteries become narrow with plaques, and a blood clot can form and block the blood supply to the brain . In other cases, a blood clot may travel from elsewhere in the body and lodge in the narrowed arteries .Thrombotic stroke and embolic stroke are both causes of the most common type of stroke, ischaemic stroke. Haemorrhagic stroke, which is less common, occurs when a blood vessel in the brain breaks and bleeds.Although blocked blood vessels can cause both coronary heart disease and some types of stroke, stroke is not the same as heart disease.
Don’t Miss: How Do You Get Congestive Heart Failure
What Should I Expect If I Have Coronary Artery Disease Can It Be Cured
Technically coronary artery disease cant be cured. If youve been diagnosed with coronary artery disease, follow your healthcare providers treatment plan to help prevent your condition from getting worse. Your treatment plan may include procedures and surgery to increase the blood supply to your heart, lifestyle changes to target your risk factors and medications.
If your coronary artery disease has led to a heart attack, your healthcare provider can recommend a cardiac rehabilitation program to reduce your risk of future heart problems, regain strength and improve the quality of your life.
It is important to keep all follow-up appointments and have all tests ordered by your healthcare provider. These are needed to keep track of your condition, monitor how well your treatment plan is working and make adjustments if needed.
Read Also: Chest Muscle Pain After Open Heart Surgery