Just like a scab that heals when you cut your finger, a blood clot is a mass of blood that is moving along your bloodstream.
Clotting is normal for our blood because it is a natural part of the healing process. Unfortunately, when a blood clot happens inside your body, it can be dangerous.
According to the American Society for Hematology, these are a few risk factors for blood clots:
- Obesity
- Pregnancy
- Being sedentary for more than 4 hours (a long plane trip)
- Smoking
- Oral contraceptives (birth control pills)
- Cancers
- Injuries
- Certain surgeries
- Being over age 60
- A family history of blood clots
- Chronic inflammatory diseases (rheumatoid arthritis)
A blood clot that is being pumped along your veins can get stuck and block tissues in your legs, arms or even your brain or other organs. This can cause those parts of your body to slowly die from a loss of oxygen-rich blood. Let’s look at 8 warning signs you may have a blood clot as well as when to seek medical attention and what you can do to prevent it.
8 SIGNS YOU MAY HAVE A BLOOD CLOT
1. SWELLING
Just like a kink in a garden hose, a blood clot puts pressure on the vein behind the clot. This pressure can build and push outward, stretching the surrounding tissues. Swelling from blood clots occurs most often in the legs.
2. UNEXPLAINED PAIN
In the chest, pain can feel like a weight resting on your chest rather than an intensely piercing pain. A feeling of pressure or a dull pain that accompanies other symptoms is a sign that you may have a blood clot.
3. SKIN APPEARING BLUE OR PALE
The lack of blood supply from a blood clot is what makes your skin turn pale, then blue as the oxygen leaves the blood.
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