5 Blood Clot Facts Doctors Want You to Know

Potentially fatal blood clots, known as venous thromboembolism (VTE), are more likely when you’re hospitalized or part of a high risk group. Learn how to reduce your risk.

Under normal circumstances, blood clots can be helpful. For example, when you get hurt, your body forms a blood clot to stop the bleeding. After healing takes place, your body breaks down the clot and removes it. But sometimes this process goes wrong. Some people get too many blood clots, and other people have blood that clots in an unusual way. The end result: venous thromboembolism (VTE), a disorder that affects between 300,000 to 600,000 Americans each year.

Without proper treatment, VTE can block blood flow and oxygen to parts of your body. This can cause serious damage to your tissues and organs, or even death. The good news is that you can reduce your risk of VTE through lifestyle changes and medication when appropriate.

Here are five facts that doctors wish everyone knew about VTE:

1. Some Patient Populations Are at Higher Risk

“About 40 percent of all VTE occur in hospitals or shortly after discharge, and about 30 percent of all VTE occur in cancer patients,” says Mary Cushman, MD, hematologist and medical director of the thrombosis and hemostasis program at the University of Vermont Medical Center in Burlington. One strategy for reducing VTE in hospitalized patients is to use low dose blood thinning medication, notes Dr. Cushman. During a hospital stay, it’s important to have a VTE risk assessment by your healthcare team, notes the National Health Services. This will help determine the best prevention strategy for your situation.

People with cancer who are seen in outpatient settings may also benefit from low dose blood thinners. VTE risk is particularly high during chemotherapy treatment and after cancer-related surgery. There are large ongoing clinical trials to help doctors determine how best to prescribe VTE prevention treatments for cancer patients. In the meantime, patients should ask their oncologists for a risk assessment and get educated about the symptoms and signs of blood clots.

Other populations at higher risk for VTE include people with autoimmune diseases like lupus and those living with HIV. Having a personal history of stroke or a prior deep vein thrombosis also puts you at higher risk.

2. Sign and Symptoms for VTE Are Not Always Obvious

Deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism are two forms of VTE. Deep vein thrombosis is when a blood clot forms in a deep vein, usually in the lower leg or thigh. A pulmonary embolism occurs when a clot breaks loose and travels through the bloodstream to the lungs.

If you have deep vein thrombosis, you may experience the following symptoms:

Swelling in legs or arms
Pain or tenderness
Increased warmth, cramps, or aching
Red or discolored skin

The symptoms for pulmonary embolism include:

Shortness of breath
Pain with deep breathing
Rapid breathing
Increased heart rate
Cough

3. There Is No Routine Screening Test for VTE

Routine screening tests are available for common conditions like diabetes and high cholesterol. But there aren’t any evidence-based screening tests to detect blood clots.

“The main ways that doctors assess your risk for VTE is by taking a good medical history and by evaluating your signs and symptoms,” says Ada Stewart, MD, a family physician with the Eau Claire Cooperative Health Centers in South Carolina and member of the board of directors for the American Academy of Family Physicians. “Your doctor may also ask about any family history of blood clots and will review your current medication.”

Because no screening test exists for finding blood clots, it’s important to know the risk factors, such as:

Surgery
Sitting or being in bed for long periods of time
Age
Sex
Obesity
Hormone-based medication, like birth control
Pregnancy
Race and ethnicity

4. Behaviors and Lifestyle Factors Are Important for Preventing VTE

Being sedentary, obese, and smoking all increase a person’s risk for blood clots, says Dr. Stewart.

Stewart also noted that while many patients are aware that smoking is bad for cardiovascular disease and blood pressure, they don’t realize that smoking is also bad for blood clots.

You can’t change some risk factors, like age or family history, but behaviors are within your control. For example, if you have a job where you sit a lot, be sure to get up and move around periodically. If you smoke, quit. Maintain a healthy diet and get regular exercise.

5. There Are Effective Drugs to Help Treat VTE

Cushman notes that there’s been a “revolution of new drugs in the last 5 to 10 years which have simplified the treatment of VTE. These medicines, called direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs), are less cumbersome to use compared with the old standard warfarin treatment, which requires regular blood work for monitoring.”

If you’re concerned about taking anticoagulant medication, talk to your healthcare provider about the risks and benefits of each option. For example, bleeding is the main side effect for blood thinners and is a concern for some patients. This may be particularly true for those who are older and have other risk factors for bleeding.

If you’d prefer to try a more natural approach for lowering your risk of VTE, weight loss and other lifestyle changes are good options. Statins can also help lower risk for blood clots. Still, it is not clear if these interventions will help prevent a recurrence once you’ve already had a blood clot. For these reasons, blood thinning drugs remain the cornerstone of treatment, notes Cushman.