What is a blood clot?
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It can be a life-threatening situation if clot forms in your heart and blood vessels, that can travels through other body parts.
Blood clots are a gel-like material of blood that forms in your veins or arteries when blood changes from liquid to partially solid.
Clotting is a natural and normal response of the body to prevent excessive bleeding when we are injured.
However, clotting can also be made without any injury inside our body that can travel to the vital body organs, which is quite dangerous.
Why Does It Form and Is It Vital For The Body?
Yes, clotting is very important for the body like other vital organs and hormones.
The clot is very important to our body when we are injured and start bleeding, and in response to it, our body makes sure the bleeding stop soon.
Where it forms a clump of blood (blood clot), it ensures the body does not lose much blood, stops germs from getting in, and allows the wound to heal.
What Materials are Used In Making Blood Clots? and What Makes Them Stronger.
It starts with platelets that float around in our blood when we are injured, then collagen exposure that attracts platelets.
Platelets go on the injured area and stick together, making a barrier, but this barrier isn’t strong enough to stop more blood.
In this case, a soluble protein called fibrinogen is exposed to outside chemicals that turn this protein into sticky fibrin fibers.
The result, holding all the platelets together and making a much stronger clot, and other components in the blood all get stuck making it even stronger.
After a few hours or days, when damaged tissue completely heals, now body doesn’t need to clot anymore.
Then this hard material (clot) dissolves, and your blood takes back the platelets and cells of the clot.
After a few days, the clot develops into a scab to protect and heal the wound, and a new layer of skin forms underneath.
NOTE: 8 Potential Reasons For Blood In Mucus During Cough
Signs and symptoms of a blood clot on body parts
There are several signs and symptoms that tell you to have a blood clot on the body’s different parts including:
Symptoms on brain
- Pain
- seizure sometimes
- weakness of arms or legs
- blurry vision with black spots, or double vision in both eyes
- confusion, or dizziness
- paralysis
- problem in speaking
- difficulty in coordinate
- inability to move or feel one side of your body
- lack of focus, and balance
- severe headache
Clot on the brain leads to stroke and it depends on which area of the brain is affected
Symptoms on legs and arms
Legs are the most common place for a clot, especially in your lower legs (knee down) these signs include:
- Swelling
- tenderness
- a warm sensation
- pain
- reddish affect area skin color
Signs of a clot in the heart
Blood clots that occur in the heart can reduce or cut down blood flow to the heart and cause a heart attack.
With help of these early signs of clot and heart attack you can prevent heart disease or attack including:
- Chest pain
- lightheadedness
- sweating
- shortness of breath
- pain in the arm, back, neck, and jaw
- nausea and heartburn
- fast heartbeat
An early sign of heart attack include:
- Chest Pain or Discomfort
- Irregular heartbeat
- Unspecific Sweating
- Shortness of breathing
- Lightheadedness
- Nausea
- Back pain
Clots also develop in the heart itself, this is called coronary artery thrombosis, due to fatty tissue that forms in the heart arteries.
Symptoms on lungs
When a clot is stuck in your lungs is called pulmonary embolism (PE), blocking blood flow to part of the lungs (8).
A person may see these signs of blood clots including:
- shortness of breath
- chest pain
- rapid heartbeat
- blood during cough or coughing
- difficulty in breathing
The main reason for leg clots is that people don’t get enough movement over a long period of time or sit for a long time.
And maybe previous major surgery, or have a serious illness or injury.
Symptoms of clot on the abdomen
Blood clots that develop in the abdomen can target other organs, and symptoms can see in individuals.
Clots that develop in the abdomen are a form of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) that can cause symptoms (3) like:
- Pain (abdominal that comes and goes)
- vomiting
- blood in stool
- diarrhea
- nausea
- swelling on abdomen
- ascites (a condition in which fluids collect in spaces within your abdomen)
These symptoms are not only signs of a clot, but can also be other symptoms of other conditions including stomach virus or food poisoning.
Dangerous of a blood clot
If the blood clots form in a vein it is called venous thrombosis, it commonly affects the leg veins, especially the calf (6)
Blood clots that stay in place may not hurt you, but clots that separate and begin to move through the bloodstream can be harmful.
A clot in the legs can become dangerous called an embolus, if part of the clot breaks off and blocks vessels in the lungs are called pulmonary embolism.
Heart attack
If blood clots form in arteries that usually supply blood to vital organs like the heart, then it might be a life-threatening condition.
This kind of thrombus blocks a coronary artery, and it can cause a heart attack.
However, clots develop in the heart itself and can move to the brain and block blood vessels there, can cause to stroke.
You should quickly talk to your doctor if you face any of these signs, and if you suspect a blood clot (9)
However, these signs do not indicate only a clot but may be warning signs of other underlying medical conditions.
Who is at high risk of a blood clot?
There are several causes of a person who is at high risk of blood clots apart from the natural process.
Certain people at higher risk of developing a blood clot include:
- Older people over age 65
- people who have an irregular heartbeat
- heart surgery people (heart valves also increase the risk of thrombus)
- artificial heart valves also increase the risk of a thrombus
- staying in hospital and trauma may significantly increase the risk of blood clots
- pregnant women
- birth control pills or hormone replacement therapy
- family history of clotting
Health conditions that can increase the risk of blood clots are:
- cancer and/or chemotherapy
- have covid-19
- tuberculosis
- blood infection or disorder
- heart conditions
- rheumatoid arthritis (is an autoimmune and inflammatory disease)
- asthma
- Inflammatory bowel disease (is a disorder that is related to chronic inflammation of tissues in your digestive tract)
- sleep apnea
- diabetes
- polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)
- sepsis
- behcet’s syndrome (a rare disorder, where whole body blood vessels are inflamed)
- kidney disease
- systemic lupus erythematosus is an autoimmune disease, where the immune system mistakenly attacks healthy cells.
Other factors are based on lifestyle. an unhealthy lifestyle can also enhance the risk of it including:
- Sitting for a long time
- obesity
- smoking
- a lazy lifestyle
- illness medications or drugs
Blood clots during the period
Most women will experience period clots at some point in their lives, and it is normal (9).
However, passing a large amount of blood clot or blood can be a sign of something wrong.
The period is necessary to start the reproductive system in females and connect the steps of becoming a mother.
NOTE: Irregular Periods in Teenage Years: Causes, Treatment, Risk
What Causes Periods To Clot?
During periods, the endometrial cells that line the uterus strip away and leave the body.
When this happens, the body releases proteins that cause the blood in the uterus to coagulate (a fluid, especially blood) and change to a solid or semi-solid state.
This coagulation blocks the blood vessels in the lining of the uterus from bleed (9)
Also, blood that has already been shed contains these coagulation proteins.
Now, when the flow is heavy, the coagulation proteins within the blood start sticking together, resulting in period clots.
There are other several potential reasons for heavy periods with clots, all these conditions are treatable including:
- Polyps and Fibroids
- thyroid
- medication or illegal drugs
- birth control pill
- endometriosis
- miscarriage
- polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS)
Check Out – Hyperthyroidism Disorder: Reasons, Signs, Treatment, And More
How can you prevent blood clots?
In most cases, people with blood clots don’t see any symptoms until a serious matter occurs.
Here are the top ways to prevent blood clots include:
- Reduce excessive weight by doing regular exercise and maintaining a healthy weight
- stay active by doing daily housework, or exercises
- avoid smoking or tobacco use
- keep your body hydrated, dehydration increases the odds of developing a blood clot.
- avoid sitting for a long period of time by taking a break after every 30 minutes, walking, using the stairs, joining active games, etc.
- If possible control your medicine use such as High BP, and diabetes.
Medical ways to prevent clots are:
- SCDs (sequential compression devices) a machine that is used to squeeze legs or feet gently.
- compression socks or sleeves and stockings can be used to keep a blood clot from forming or moving
- prescribed medicine like blood thinning medication
Down Line
When we are injured and start bleeding, and in response to it, our body makes sure the bleeding stop soon.
In response to bleeding our body forms a clump of blood (blood clot), which ensures the body does not lose much blood and stops germs from getting in.
A blood clot can be a dangerous condition, if an undisclosed clot may travel through other body parts like the heart causing a heart attack.