Deep Vein Thrombosis

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Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT)

I am here to talk to you about deep vein thrombosis and about its causes and effects it can have on a person. You all have probably heard about this disease, but most likely have never encountered it. It is generally common to older people around 40 years plus and to people who have not had proper exercise. It is disease of the circulatory system causing a blood clot to form in one of the deep veins in the body, especially in the calf or thigh. This is where blood moves most slowly, and when a deep vein thrombosis occurs the blood goes so slow that it forms a solid wedge-like clot in the vein.

Most of the time after the clot has happened pains can be felt where the clot has formed. Also the skin temperature can be raised around the clot and sudden swelling can be seen. Occasionally, some of the surface veins may be more visible than usual. If the clot has formed in the leg then flexing the foot may also cause pain.

DVT can be quite easily detected. Scientists have found a way of using ultrasound technology to detect even the tiniest of clots. Another way is to give blood tests which would show the state of a by product of clotting material called D-dimer. If the doctor suspects a DVT, they usually would arrange an ultrasound test. You may think DVT’s are life-threatening and easily cause deaths, but they are not. However, the complications can be fatal. The most common and most fatal complication is pulmonary embolism. Pulmonary embolism has a one in three chance of happening. This causes a piece of clot to break away and become lodged inside the lungs causing severe breathing difficulties. This is generally untreated and one in ten people with this die. Rarities include a piece being lodged in other parts of the body, including the brain. This could lead to a stroke. A less serious complication that affects most people after DVT is post-thrombotic syndrome which causes ulceration, swelling and pain at the skin around the vein valves where the DVT has occurred.

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Around seventy percent of DVT victims need to be cared for in a hospital during the initial stages as the doctors aim to dissolve the clot and stop further clots from forming. The most common type of treatment is to thin the blood, using the drug heparin, to make the blood flow easily. Patients are then given warfarin for several months to stop a haemorrhage from forming. Painkillers are also given as is heat to the area.

There are many reasons why DVT’s occur. The medical reasons that make them more likely to occur include a family history of ...

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