Your body’s venous system plays a crucial part in the transportation of blood, carrying deoxygenated blood from your organs to your heart, which then pumps oxygenated blood to other organs.
In a unique method, carbon dioxide travels from the tissue to your blood capillaries, then via your veins and right to your heart, where it is converted into oxygenated blood and transported to your organs.
Hence, veins are very important in the circulatory system, and deep vein thrombosis severely affects this system and may even result in death if it is not treated right enough.
What is deep vein thrombosis?
It is a pathological condition in which blood moves much more slowly through your veins than it normally does. This slow blood flow can result in clots, which are collections of blood cells, and when these clots form in deep veins, you will experience DVT.
Due to the presence of clots, the injury site will experience some pain and swelling. This typically happens in your lower body, such as your legs, thighs, and pelvis, though it can also happen in other places.
If this clot escapes, it could travel through your bloodstream until it reaches the veins in your lungs, where it would then cause a pulmonary embolism.
Venous thrombosis can occur without any evident symptoms, but it can also cause symptoms like excruciating pain, so it’s important to get medical attention right away if you experience any of these signs.
DVT is a critical condition that needs to be treated right away, however, several factors make it more likely to occur:
- Individuals who have blood clots of any kind are at risk for developing DVT.
- People who have a history of the disease, such as if one of your parents had it, may be at risk for DVT, and your risk increases if both of your parents had it.
- Older individuals, particularly those over 45, are at higher risk for DVT than younger individuals.
Men between the ages of 45 and 60 are also at higher risk for DVT because they move less than younger individuals.
- If you are unable to get out of bed because of illness, surgery, or just laziness, you run the risk of developing deep vein thrombosis. This happens because your body depends on muscle contraction to force blood through deep veins in your leg
When you are at rest, however, your muscles don’t contract as they should, which causes blood to pool in your lower leg and increases the risk of clot formation.
- Sitting for extended periods of time is dangerous in many situations, including sitting down for hours or days on a plane or in a car while driving, It also increases the risk of DVT.
Sitting down for long periods of time at work or at home is dangerous.
- Pregnancy: Since DVT is influenced by hormone levels, such as estrogen, high levels of estrogen encourage the formation of blood clots in the body.
estrogen is also present in birth control pills and hormone replacement therapy, which increases the risk of DVT in pregnant and recently delivered women.
- Genes: Some genes in people increase their risk of developing deep vein thrombosis (DVT) because they make clots form more easily.
This is accomplished by a factor known as Factor v Leiden.
- Obesity: As your body mass index rises, it may increase your risk of developing deep vein thrombosis (DVT), as excess body fat, particularly in the abdomen, reduces blood flow through veins and high cholesterol raises the likelihood of clot formation.
- Other conditions: like cardiac problems and lung conditions, people who have these conditions and those who are receiving cancer treatment have a higher risk of DVT.
- Injuries to the muscles and veins: If your muscles are severely damaged or you have a bone fracture, this could affect the inner lining of your veins and cause a clot to form through deep veins.
- Smoking has an impact on the lining of your veins, which makes blood clots more likely to form.
- Inflammation: this can be brought on by an infection, an injury, or after surgery. It also increases the risk of vein clots.
- Several drugs, including glucocorticoids and antidepressants, have an impact on blood flow.
- Having catheters inserted into your veins can make clots more likely to form.