Deep vein thrombosis is the formation of blood clot present in the deep veins of the body. It occurs mostly in legs causing intense leg pain. This condition occurs for people who are sitting for long time like traveling in car or due to certain medical conditions. In rare cases, deep vein thrombosis can become life threatening when the blood clot break loses and reaches the lungs causing pulmonary embolism (block in normal blood flow).
Symptoms :
More than half of the people with deep vein thrombosis will not have any symptoms. For some people symptoms like leg pain, swelling in the leg, swelling in the ankle are observed. It can also cause warmth and tenderness on the affected legs or ankles. The skin color can change to pale red giving obvious symptoms in some people.
In case you experience breathlessness with chest pain along with leg pain with coughing up blood then it can be due to pulmonary embolism. In that case, you can seek immediate medical attention with your doctor.
Causes :
Deep vein thrombosis occurs due to clotting of blood in the veins. It can affect any part of your body but largely seen in legs. It can happen due to underlying medical issues like blood circulation problems. Anything that slows down the blood flow in the veins can cause blood clots. Taking bed rest for long, undergoing surgery on knee or hip, fracture in the pelvic bone and obesity can cause DVT. Certain types of autoimmune disorders, cancer, smoking, and using oral contraceptive pills for long can cause this problem.
Who are at risk?
People whose work involves sitting for long time like that of driver of a car or plane. They would keep their legs in the same position for long time. Due to lack of movement in the calf muscles it can cause blood clot. Flying for long distances can cause blood clots.