Symptoms in Legs, Lungs, and More

Written by WebMD Editorial Contributors

• Arms, Legs
• Heart
• Lungs
• Brain
• Belly
• Kidneys
• More

Ever get a paper cut or nick yourself while shaving? When that happens, a blood clot saves the day. It quickly stops the bleeding, and when it’s done its job, it usually breaks up. Sometimes, though, things can go wrong.

When blood clots don’t fall apart, they can be dangerous and lead to serious medical conditions. You can get them in blood vessels in just about any part of your body. They’re most likely to affect a leg, especially if you sit for long periods of time.

You might get a clot in your arteries, which carry oxygen in your blood from your heart to all the cells of your body. The result can be really serious. It can keep oxygen from getting to your heart, lungs, or brain, and cause a life-threatening emergency, like a heart attack or stroke.

You could also get a clot in the veins that carry blood back to your heart. When that happens, symptoms usually come on more gradually, but can still mean trouble.

If you learn the warning signs, you’re more likely to get quick medical help that can make a huge difference in keeping you out of the danger zone. But it’s important to know that in some cases, clots can happen with few symptoms or none at all..

See More: Dos and Don’ts of a Blood Clot

When a blood clot forms in one of the deep veins in your arm or leg, way beneath your skin’s surface, it could be something called a deep vein thrombosis (DVT). That’s dangerous because the clot could travel to your heart or lungs.

You’re more likely to get a DVT if you haven’t moved around for a long time, say after surgery or during a long plane trip. Get medical help right away if you notice any of these symptoms:

• Swelling. This can happen in the exact spot where the blood clot forms, or your entire leg or arm could puff up.
• Change in color. You might notice that your arm or leg takes on a red or blue tinge, or gets itchy.
• Pain. As the clot gets worse, you may hurt or get sore. The feeling can range from a dull ache to intense pain. You may notice the pain throbs in your leg, belly, or even your arm.
• Warm skin. The skin around painful areas or in the arm or leg with the DVT may feel warmer than other skin.
• Trouble breathing. If this happens, it could mean that the clot has moved from your arm or leg to your lungs. You may also get a bad cough, and might even cough up blood. You may get pain in your chest or feel dizzy. Call 911 to get medical help right away.
• Lower leg cramp. If the clot is in your calf or lower leg, you may feel like you have a cramp or charley horse.
• Pitting edema. DVT can cause fluid buildup (edema) in the arms or legs. It typically happens quite quickly with DVT. When you press on the swollen area, it can cause a dimple or “pit” (pitting) that remains for a few seconds.
• Swollen, painful veins. The pain may increase with touch.

A blood clot that forms in or around your ticker may cause a heart attack. Watch out for symptoms like these:

• Severe pain in your chest and arm
• Sweating
• Trouble breathing

A blood clot in your lung usually starts out in a deep vein in your arm or leg, then breaks off and travels to your lung. When this happens, you get what’s called a pulmonary embolism, an extremely dangerous condition.

Get medical help right away if you:

• Feel short of breath or have problems breathing
• Get pain in your chest
• Start to cough
• Begin to sweat
• Feel dizzy

Blood clots here may be caused by fatty deposits in the walls of the blood vessels that bring blood to your brain. Or sometimes, they may form because of a blow to your head that leads to a concussion.

In other cases, a clot that starts out in a different part of your body, like your chest or neck, might enter your bloodstream and travel to your brain, where it can cause a stroke.

Watch out for these symptoms:

• Problems with your vision or speech
• A seizure
• General feeling of weakness

Blood clots can happen in the veins that drain blood from your intestines. They can be caused by conditions like diverticulitis or liver disease, or even by birth control pills.

How will you know if this is going on? Check with your doctor if you have problems like these:

• Nausea or vomiting
• Severe pain in your belly, which may be worse after you eat
• Diarrhea
• Bloody stools
• A bloated feeling

A blood clot in your kidneys can keep them from removing waste from your body. That can cause high blood pressure or even kidney failure.

This is dangerous, so look out for these symptoms:

• Pain in the side of your belly, legs, or thighs
• Blood in your urine
• Fever
• Nausea or vomiting
• High blood pressure
• Sudden severe leg swelling
• Trouble breathing

Top Picks

Symptoms in Legs, Lungs, and More

Written by WebMD Editorial Contributors

• Arms, Legs
• Heart
• Lungs
• Brain
• Belly
• Kidneys
• More

Ever get a paper cut or nick yourself while shaving? When that happens, a blood clot saves the day. It quickly stops the bleeding, and when it’s done its job, it usually breaks up. Sometimes, though, things can go wrong.

When blood clots don’t fall apart, they can be dangerous and lead to serious medical conditions. You can get them in blood vessels in just about any part of your body. They’re most likely to affect a leg, especially if you sit for long periods of time.

You might get a clot in your arteries, which carry oxygen in your blood from your heart to all the cells of your body. The result can be really serious. It can keep oxygen from getting to your heart, lungs, or brain, and cause a life-threatening emergency, like a heart attack or stroke.

You could also get a clot in the veins that carry blood back to your heart. When that happens, symptoms usually come on more gradually, but can still mean trouble.

If you learn the warning signs, you’re more likely to get quick medical help that can make a huge difference in keeping you out of the danger zone. But it’s important to know that in some cases, clots can happen with few symptoms or none at all. .

See More: Dos and Don’ts of a Blood Clot

When a blood clot forms in one of the deep veins in your arm or leg, way beneath your skin’s surface, it could be something called a deep vein thrombosis (DVT). That’s dangerous because the clot could travel to your heart or lungs.

You’re more likely to get a DVT if you haven’t moved around for a long time, say after surgery or during a long plane trip. Get medical help right away if you notice any of these symptoms:

• Swelling. This can happen in the exact spot where the blood clot forms, or your entire leg or arm could puff up.
• Change in color. You might notice that your arm or leg takes on a red or blue tinge, or gets itchy.
• Pain. As the clot gets worse, you may hurt or get sore. The feeling can range from a dull ache to intense pain. You may notice the pain throbs in your leg, belly, or even your arm.
• Warm skin. The skin around painful areas or in the arm or leg with the DVT may feel warmer than other skin.
• Trouble breathing. If this happens, it could mean that the clot has moved from your arm or leg to your lungs. You may also get a bad cough, and might even cough up blood. You may get pain in your chest or feel dizzy. Call 911 to get medical help right away.
• Lower leg cramp. If the clot is in your calf or lower leg, you may feel like you have a cramp or charley horse.
• Pitting edema. DVT can cause fluid buildup (edema) in the arms or legs. It typically happens quite quickly with DVT. When you press on the swollen area, it can cause a dimple or “pit” (pitting) that remains for a few seconds.
• Swollen, painful veins. The pain may increase with touch.

A blood clot that forms in or around your ticker may cause a heart attack. Watch out for symptoms like these:

• Severe pain in your chest and arm
• Sweating
• Trouble breathing

A blood clot in your lung usually starts out in a deep vein in your arm or leg, then breaks off and travels to your lung. When this happens, you get what’s called a pulmonary embolism, an extremely dangerous condition.

Get medical help right away if you:

• Feel short of breath or have problems breathing
• Get pain in your chest
• Start to cough
• Begin to sweat
• Feel dizzy

Blood clots here may be caused by fatty deposits in the walls of the blood vessels that bring blood to your brain. Or sometimes, they may form because of a blow to your head that leads to a concussion.

In other cases, a clot that starts out in a different part of your body, like your chest or neck, might enter your bloodstream and travel to your brain, where it can cause a stroke.

Watch out for these symptoms:

• Problems with your vision or speech
• A seizure
• General feeling of weakness

Blood clots can happen in the veins that drain blood from your intestines. They can be caused by conditions like diverticulitis or liver disease, or even by birth control pills.

How will you know if this is going on? Check with your doctor if you have problems like these:

• Nausea or vomiting
• Severe pain in your belly, which may be worse after you eat
• Diarrhea
• Bloody stools
• A bloated feeling

A blood clot in your kidneys can keep them from removing waste from your body. That can cause high blood pressure or even kidney failure.

This is dangerous, so look out for these symptoms:

• Pain in the side of your belly, legs, or thighs
• Blood in your urine
• Fever
• Nausea or vomiting
• High blood pressure
• Sudden severe leg swelling
• Trouble breathing

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Thrombosis of limbs | Symptoms, Treatment

Deep vein thrombosis, along with subcutaneous vein thrombophlebitis and pulmonary embolism, are combined into a single concept – venous thromboembolic complications (VTEC).

Venous thrombosis is an acute disease characterized by the formation of a thrombus in the lumen of a vein with a more or less pronounced inflammatory process and impaired blood flow. The presence of an inflammatory component in the thrombosis zone determines another name for this disease – thrombophlebitis.

Most phlebologists, understanding the conditionality of such a division of venous thrombosis, use the term “thrombophlebitis” to refer to damage to the saphenous veins (in which symptoms of inflammation are pronounced), and the terms “thrombosis”, “deep vein thrombosis”, “phlebothrombosis” – to refer to the defeat deep veins.

Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) is a disease that negatively affects not only the venous and lymphatic return system, but also worsens the function of the cardiovascular system as a whole.

If no active steps are taken to eliminate this pathology, the further course of the pathological process becomes persistent, prone to self-development and irreversible.

The disease does not have strictly characteristic symptoms and has many risk factors and trigger factors, which requires additional involvement in clarifying its presence and type of course of additional high-precision modern instrumental diagnostic tools, the main of which in modern clinical conditions is the method of ultrasonic angioscanning with color mapping .

• According to the International Consensus Statement, the incidence of deep vein thrombosis in the general population is about 160 cases per 100,000 population, with a fatal pulmonary embolism rate of 60 per 100,000 population.
• In Russia, 240,000 people fall ill with venous thrombosis every year, and pulmonary embolism, including fatal, develops in 100,000 of them, which significantly exceeds the incidence of tuberculosis, viral hepatitis, and HIV infection.
• Approximately 200,000 people are hospitalized each year for deep vein thrombosis in the United States. At the same time, 1/3 falls on repeated thrombosis. Among the inhabitants of Italy, who are in the most active working age (from 20 to 55 years), deep vein thrombosis is diagnosed within 1%.
• Venous thrombosis occurs in a wide variety of clinical situations and complicates the course of many diseases. The incidence of postoperative thrombosis, according to different authors, is 20-59%.

The history of the study of phlebothrombosis

The study of phlebothrombosis of deep veins has more than 400 years.

Occlusion of the main veins as a cause of gangrene was first described by F. Hildanus in 1593. The first mention of ileofemoral phlebothrombosis appeared in the medical literature 300 years ago, it was made by Mauriceau.

The concept of “thrombophlebitis” was first introduced into medicine by the English surgeon John Hunter (1728-1793), who operated on gunshot and other wounds a lot and noted the frequency of inflammatory processes, combined with the formation of blood clots in the veins.

Interest in deep vein phlebothrombosis increased significantly after the creation of the theory of venous thromboembolism by the eminent German pathologist R. Virchow. Opening in 1844 the corpse of a young man who died suddenly after he developed pain in the thigh, Virchow found a blood clot in the right femoral vein and a twisted clot in the pulmonary artery. After that, he introduced the concepts of “thrombus” and “embolus” into medical terminology. In 1845, having found venous thrombi in 18 cases out of 76 autopsies, in 11 cases revealing the presence of thromboembolism in the pulmonary artery, he came to the conclusion that blood clots form in the veins and are transferred with the blood flow to the pulmonary artery. He also formulated the classical triad, which is still the most complete reflection of the links in the pathogenesis of local vascular thrombosis.

The first Russian-language monograph devoted to this problem was the work of I.F. Klein “On thrombosis, embolism and ichorremia”, published in 1863.

Despite the fact that acute deep phlebothrombosis in different types of localization and clinical course differ significantly from each other, they are united by the commonality of the main etiopathogenetic processes. The idea of ​​phlebothrombosis as a nosological group is based on the classical Virchow triad.

More than 150 years ago, Rudolf Virchow described the main mechanisms of intravascular thrombosis. Its classic triad includes hypercoagulability, damage to the vessel wall, and slowing of blood flow. Sometimes, for the occurrence of this pathology, a pathological change in only one of these factors is sufficient.

Despite the fact that the thrombotic process can develop at any level of the main veins, in more than half of the cases, the starting point of its development in the centripetal direction is the veins of the leg.
In the vast majority of cases, thrombosis is primarily localized in the veins of the leg, and then grows in the proximal direction in the popliteal, femoral and iliac veins.

It is this type of development that is very often embologenic, since the growth of a thrombus occurs in the direction of veins with an increasing inner diameter, where thrombus masses are not always fixed along the entire perimeter of the vein. Such thrombi are called floating.

One of the main causes of blood flow slowdown is immobilization. Under normal conditions, the outflow of blood from the lower extremities is carried out by contraction of the calf muscles, which act as a peripheral pump, pushing blood in the proximal direction, assisted by the function of the valves. Restriction of physical activity significantly disrupts this mechanism. In this case, the blood lingers in the venous sinuses of the lower leg.

The question of the significance of risk factors and triggering factors of thrombosis has been studied in sufficient detail:

• Congenital thrombophilias (deficiencies of various factors of the hemostasis system or their pathological changes)
• Activation of coagulation factors and fibrinolysis disorders (trauma, surgery, neoplasms, pregnancy, childbirth, etc. ).
• Pathology of platelets.
• Slowdown and / or disturbance of blood flow (age over 40 – 45 years, immobilization, pathology of the central circulatory mechanisms, obesity, etc.).
• Changes in the rheological properties of blood.
• Damage to the endothelium and vascular wall (contrast agents, intravascular devices, venous catheters, vein dilatation, etc.).
• Drug therapy (anesthetics, muscle relaxants, chemotherapy, contraceptives, contrast agents). For example, the incidence of postoperative thrombosis after various surgical interventions can reach 20-59%.

Symptoms of thrombosis

Symptoms of acute deep vein thrombosis include:

• edema,
• bursting pains,
• cyanosis of limb,
• dilatation of the saphenous veins,
• local increase in skin temperature,
• pain along the vascular bundle.

However, local hyperthermia and pain are more characteristic of superficial thrombophlebitis. The latter should be attributed rather to risk factors for the development of deep vein thrombosis.

Classic DVT symptoms:

• pain,
• soreness,
• puffiness,
• hyperemia,
• Homans symptom.

The overall sensitivity/specificity of these symptoms is 3 to 91%.
The presence of symptoms does not confirm DVT. The absence of symptoms does not rule out DVT (up to 50% of patients have no clinical symptoms).

Thrombosis Probability Calculation

In 1997, Wells et al developed and tested a clinical DVT probability model

The presence of each sign is estimated at 1 point:

The primary development of thrombosis in the deep veins of the leg is most common. This is facilitated by the conditions under which such an important hemodynamic factor as the contraction of the calf muscles is turned off. Such localization occurs in more than half of the observations.

Physical examination reveals positive symptoms:

• Moses – pain when pressing the lower leg in the anteroposterior direction,
• Homansa – pain in the calf muscles with dorsiflexion of the foot,
• Lowenberg – pain in the calf muscles at pressure up to 150 mm Hg. Art., created by the cuff of the sphygmomanometer.

However, the same symptoms will be positive in any other inflammatory process in the limb under study.

When the femoral vein is involved in the process, patients notice aching pains along the medial surface of the limb, according to the projection of the Günther canal.

Thrombosis of the common femoral vein is manifested by a more pronounced increase in the volume of the lower leg and even the thigh, cyanosis of the skin, the intensity of which increases towards the periphery. There is an expansion of the saphenous veins in the distal part of the thigh and lower leg. If thrombosis extends to the mouth of the great saphenous vein of the thigh, then the hypertension developing in the superficial venous system leads to the exclusion of anastomoses crossing with the contralateral limb. At the same time, there is an increase in the pattern of saphenous veins in the pubic and groin area. On palpation, the vascular bundle is painful throughout the thigh. The period of pronounced venous stasis lasts 3-4 days, after which a slow decrease in edema occurs. This phenomenon is due to the inclusion of collateral systems in the circulation. Thus, a reduction in pain and less swelling can create illusory well-being and often result in a late referral to a specialist. In addition, phlebothrombosis can occur without any complaints from the patient (asymptomatically), especially in postoperative patients.

More or less typical symptoms:

• bursting pains,
• edema (increased leg circumference),
• skin cyanosis.

Edema is of the greatest importance in terms of making a preliminary diagnosis. However, none of the listed clinical symptoms can be considered absolutely reliable in the diagnosis of this nosology. Any, even the most minimal patient complaints (for example: simple discomfort in the distal segments of the lower limb), especially in combination with the presence of risk factors, require an additional examination of the patient for the presence of phlebothrombosis.

Thus, it can be concluded that the presence of phlebothrombosis on the basis of anamnesis, patient complaints and clinical symptoms can only be suspected in order to confirm or exclude its existence during further examination, to determine the localization and embologenic danger. The absence of pathognomonic symptoms and the presence of a period of imaginary improvement are the cause of late hospitalization of patients, which in many cases limits the possibility of effective surgical treatment.

Diagnostic tests in patients with suspected DVT

• Assessment of the clinical likelihood of DVT,
• D-Dimer,
• Ultrasound examination of veins,
• MRI phlebography,
• MSCT.

Treatment of thrombosis

The tasks or goals of the treatment being carried out are formulated very specifically for today:

1. Stop the spread of thrombosis.

2. Prevent pulmonary embolism.

3. Prevent progression of edema and prevent venous gangrene.

4. Restore the patency of the veins and the functions of the valvular apparatus in order to avoid the development of post-thrombophlebitic disease in the future.

5. Prevent recurrence of thrombosis.

Conventionally, modern approaches to the treatment of patients with acute phlebothrombosis in the basin of the inferior vena cava can be divided into three main ones:

1. Conservative.

2. Minimally invasive.

3. Surgical aggression.

Conservative therapy

This approach includes:

• early activation with elastic compression,
• anticoagulant,
• non-specific anti-inflammatory therapy,
• hemorheological therapy,
• intermittent pneumatic compression.

With the timely application of the above methods, it is possible to restore the patency of the veins and minimize the manifestations of post-thrombotic disease.

Minimally invasive methods

To date, this is the most common group of methods in clinical use, designed to solve all of the above tasks or goals of treating patients with deep phlebothrombosis.

Three subgroups of methods should be distinguished here:

1. Installation of cava filters and partial cavaplication.

2. Regional and systemic thrombolysis.

3. Catheter thrombectomy and pharmacomechanical thrombectomy.

Installation of cava filters and partial cavaplication

At the beginning of the formation of phlebology as a separate scientific specialty, one of the main issues that needed to be addressed immediately was the issue of preventing pulmonary embolism in phlebothrombosis. After the development in 1959 of the method of external plication of the vena cava with mattress sutures and external plication with clamps, it was possible to determine the further direction for solving the problem of acute deep phlebothrombosis and their complications – PE. Until 1967, the method in combination with conservative therapy remained the only clinical approach to this problem. Despite the fact that the implementation of the technology of external partial clipping with clamps is associated with the need for a traumatic surgical approach and is practically impossible in seriously ill patients, this approach has been used and improved to date in limited situations (for example, using endovideoscopic technique, plication from a mini-access).

The Mobin-Addin intraluminal umbrella cava-filter created and applied clinically, which required the study of methods for delivering the device to the object, was the first experience of intraluminal catheter intervention and, in fact, served as the beginning of the development of a new branch of angiology – interventional radiology. Further development of this direction was carried out mainly along the path of improving the design of cava filters and studying their influence on hemodynamics and the clinical course of the main process.

Temporary cava filters are currently preferred. The temporary cava filter is removed no later than the third week.

In the vast majority of cases, the installation of a cava filter is not required at all.

Why is it not advisable to install a permanent cava filter?

Always remember that a permanent cava filter is a lifelong intake of anticoagulant drugs and a lifelong risk of filter thrombosis (a foreign body in the lumen of a vein is often complicated by thrombosis).

It has been repeatedly noted that as a result of the installation of cava filters in the near future, PE may occur with a frequency of 1.5-8%, and in terms of up to 3 years, thrombosis of the inferior vena cava occurs with a frequency of 12-25%.

For thrombosis below the inguinal ligament, the installation of a cava filter is not advisable, since there are other methods for preventing PE.

Regional and systemic thrombolysis, catheter thrombectomy, rheolytic thrombectomy

Thrombolytic therapy. The method is based on the introduction of drugs that activate endogenous fibrinolysis (streptokinase, urokinase, tPA, etc.).

Probably because the means used in this method to influence the thrombus can be effective only in relatively fresh areas of the thrombus (up to 3-5 days), so its effectiveness is low. Meanwhile, the use of regional catheter thrombolysis in 44% of cases allowed some authors to preserve valvular function and thereby prevent the development of post-thrombotic disease.

Catheter thrombus extraction . It should immediately be clarified that this method is applied only to the high segments of the inferior vena cava basin, since the technology itself does not allow it to be used in the infrainguinal position due to the obstacles formed by the valve apparatus of the veins at this and lower levels. The method is based on capturing thrombus masses from accessible segments of the inferior vena cava and iliac veins into a special bag-container and removing them by removing them through the phlebotomy opening.

Pharmaco-mechanical thrombectomy . The newest of all interventional and surgical technologies. While in the literature there are descriptions of individual cases. The method is based on the Bernoulli effect, where the velocity of a hydrodynamic jet creates areas of negative pressure in the environment. The method has the same scope as catheter thrombectomy.

Surgical interventions for femoral-popliteal phlebothrombosis

It is known that the most effective thrombectomy is possible only with thrombi older than 3-7 days.

Currently, most authors still adhere to a cautious approach in surgical removal of thrombus masses from the femoral-popliteal segment, completing the operation with ligation or resection of the ostium segment of the proper femoral vein, assessing the immediate results as good in terms of the absence of symptoms of chronic venous insufficiency. The calculation with this approach is to switch the main venous flow, to the deep vein of the thigh, which should provide a stable main outflow. In some cases, arteriovenous fistulas are used as a prevention of retrombosis.

A number of researchers use the tactics of surgical antegrade thrombectomy without subsequent ligation or ligation of the proper femoral vein, in some cases supplemented by plication of the proper femoral vein or without it.

Deep vein thrombosis: symptoms and treatment

Modern people often face diseases of the superficial leg veins, in particular varicose veins and its complications. But deep veins are often also at risk. Unfortunately, we know much less about the features of deep vein disease and their treatment than about the same varicose veins. What to pay attention to, how thrombosis differs from thrombophlebitis and what to do when symptoms of diseases appear – we will try to figure it out.

How the venous system of the legs works

Relatively speaking, the veins on the legs form two levels – superficial and deep. Superficial veins provide only about 10% of venous blood flow, but they perform a very important function. In addition to collecting blood and moving it to the heart, these veins can play the role of a kind of reservoir, which, if necessary, can receive blood from deep veins. Thus, the load on the veins is regulated by internal mechanisms.

Veins from the deep and superficial layers are interconnected by the so-called perforating veins. Due to this, balance is maintained in the venous system.

Superficial veins are at risk of excessive stretching: if a person does not move much, does not eat well, suffers from excess weight and simply has a hereditary predisposition, then blood flow slows down and the vein wall stretches. Special valves that block the reverse flow of blood do not close tightly, and we are talking about varicose veins. Deep veins are located in the thickness of tissues and ensure the movement of the main volume of blood to the heart. The surrounding muscles maintain the tone of these vessels and facilitate blood flow, so deep veins are not susceptible to varicose veins.

Thrombophlebitis is a dangerous complication of varicose veins

Slow movement of blood through the superficial veins, as well as damage to the vascular walls (and stretching often leads to them) – these are two factors that play an important role in the formation of thrombophlebitis of the lower extremities. Symptoms of this disease are pain in the leg, redness, thickening along the vein. All this is a consequence of the formation of a thrombus, a blood clot in the lumen of a vessel. Often, a blood clot can completely close the vein. The separation of a blood clot is also dangerous, since in this case it can clog another vessel, for example, the pulmonary artery.

Thrombophlebitis is a disease of the superficial veins, which is most often a complication of varicose veins. If the disease occurs on its own, without prior expansion of the veins, the cause of this is usually disorders in the blood coagulation system. Symptoms of thrombophlebitis without varicose veins always attract the attention of doctors, and this situation requires additional examinations.

Let us emphasize once again that everything described refers to superficial veins. If we are talking about deep vein thrombophlebitis of the lower extremities, symptoms and treatment… Can we talk about this disease?

Thrombophlebitis or thrombosis?

If blood clots form in the deep veins of the lower extremities, then we are not talking about thrombophlebitis, but about thrombosis. What is the difference between these two diseases?

Thrombophlebitis is a disease that occurs mainly as a result of injury to the vein wall. It is accompanied by inflammation, which, together with a slowdown in blood flow, causes the formation of blood clots. Thrombosis of the veins of the lower extremities is a disease caused by a malfunction of the blood coagulation system. It is not associated with varicose veins, nor is it preceded by damage to the veins, although the presence of trauma increases the risk of thrombosis. And it poses no less danger to the body than thrombophlebitis, since there is a possibility of blocking the blood flow or detaching a blood clot.

Factors contributing to the development of thrombosis include:

• advanced age
• weight gain, decreased physical activity
• taking oral contraceptives
• pregnancy (during this period, a woman’s blood clotting properties may change)
• smoking
• surgical operations

Thrombosis of the lower extremities – symptoms

An additional danger of thrombosis is that the disease may not manifest itself for a sufficiently long time. Symptoms appear when the thrombus reaches a large size and spreads up the vessel. Then the patient complains of pain, which decreases at rest and increases with physical activity. Then, due to the deterioration of the outflow of blood, edema joins the pain. The skin on the leg turns pale (to cyanosis) and “stretches”, acquiring a glossy sheen.

To diagnose the localization of a thrombus, ultrasound of the veins is performed, and in especially difficult cases, angiography, X-ray examination with the introduction of a contrast agent into the vessels.

What to do?

The appearance of symptoms of deep vein thrombosis of the lower extremities suggests that the patient should immediately consult a doctor and begin treatment. The specialist will assess the location and nature of the thrombus and help prevent its separation or complete blockage of the vessel.

Common treatments include blood thinners (heparin) and compression stockings to help maintain proper venous blood flow. For several days, the patient may be recommended bed rest, while the position of the legs should be slightly elevated.