Blood is a life giving fluid that supplies nutrients and removes waste products from all your body parts. Your health can take a downward trend when veins start to fail since the backflow of blood to the lungs and the heart will be limited. There is hope at Hamilton Vascular if you suffer from deep vein thrombosis (DVT) in Webster.
Risk Factors for Developing a DVT
Injury, long periods where movement is restricted, medication, and surgery can obstruct blood flow in your deep veins and cause DVT. Below are factors which can predispose you to DVT:
- Age
- Obesity
- Use of tobacco
- Inflammatory bowel disease
- Pregnancy
- Family history with DVT or pulmonary embolism
- Venous insufficiency and impairment
- Symptoms of DVT
- Swollen Legs
Swollen legs are usually no cause of alarm. However, this can indicate poor blood circulation if you smoke, stand for a long period, or are overweight. Vein disease causes a malfunction in the legs veins, making blood flow downwards due to the force of gravity, instead of flowing back to the heart. Your ankles and legs start to swell overtime if this condition is not treated.
Leg Pain
If your leg is painful and you have not suffered an injury recently, this could be caused by an underlying health condition. Blood starts to collect in the veins of your leg when flow to the heart is restricted. Over time, this can make you feel pain when doing normal activities such as bending or walking. If this pain fades away when resting, this is an indication that you have vein disease. The reason for relief is because elevating your leg helps in the backflow of blood.
Non-Healing Wounds and Skin Discoloration
Lack of proper flow of blood in the lower extremities causes a deficiency in nutrients and oxygen. As a result, if you are injured, your legs will take long to heal. Poor circulation of blood in the legs can also be manifested by the appearance of purple, red or blue spots.
Signs of Pulmonary Embolism
Your life could be in danger, necessitating emergency medical attention if your DVT develops into a pulmonary embolism. The following are the signs of pulmonary embolism:
- Increased heart rate
- Difficulty breathing and pain in the chest during coughing or breathing
- Fainting or lightheadedness
- Abrupt shortness of breath
- The appearance of blood in the cough
- Book an urgent appointment with your doctor whenever you have any of these symptoms.
- Treating a DVT
After Carlos Hamilton III, MD, and his team at Hamilton Vascular have diagnosed you with DVT, the first line of defense will be blood thinners. Blood thinners help prevent blood from clotting and the worsening of existing blood clots but do not break up existing clots. Your doctor can administer the drugs intravenously or you can take them orally. If you have severe clots, your doctor will use thrombolytics or place a filter in your large veins to intercept the clot before it reaches your lungs.
Early treatment DVT significantly reduces the likelihood of the blood clots from becoming life-threatening. If you are at risk of suffering from DVT, it is advisable to go for check-ups since there are instances where the first symptom of the disease is a pulmonary embolism.
If you are having problems with pain, swelling of the legs and visible veins, visit an experienced doctor for a check-up before things get out of hand.
