Crucial Things You Should Know About Blood Clots
Blood clotting is a normal and natural process of the body for controlling bleeding and initiating the healing process. As they form on their own, blood clots should also dissolve on their own. If they do not, blood clots can become very dangerous to your health, more so when they start traveling in your bloodstream. We encourage our patients at Express Emergency Room in Harker Heights to seek urgent medication for blood clots urgently, even when it means surgery.
What Are Blood Clots?
They are collections of blood in the blood vessels, which have changed forms from liquid to a semi-solid state. The clotting process is necessary to ensure your body responds appropriately when you are hurt. However, sometimes blood clots can form in the wrong areas of the body and fail to dissolve as they should. When this happens, you need blood clots emergency care because it is a potentially life-threatening occurrence.
Why Are Blood Clots in Your Blood Vessels?
Any time clotting happens, it is a response to an injury. Sometimes a blood clot will form in a blood vessel to prevent bleeding in an injured vein or artery. Should the blood clot stay in place and eventually dissolve on its own, there is no need to seek treatment at an ER for blood clots. The problem begins when the blood clot dislodges and travels through the bloodstream, ending up in places it should not be. Whether traveling through the veins or the arteries, blood clots that move in your bloodstream are very dangerous.
Who Is Most At Risk For Blood Clots?
Anyone can have issues with blood clots in their body. However, some groups of people are at a higher risk of problematic blood clotting than others. They include:
- Pregnant women
- Patients with any type of cancer – especially those undergoing treatment for cancer
- If you get infected with COVID-19
- Patients using hormonal medication – including birth control or hormone replacement therapy
- Being overweight or obese
- Long-term tobacco usage
- Genetics – if you are from a family of people who have blood clot issues or health conditions predisposing them to blood clots.
- After an injury or accident
Common Symptoms of A Blood Clot
You will only be sure that you have blood clots when you seek blood clot treatment in the ER nearest to you. However, there are several symptoms associated with blood clots among patients. The symptoms will appear depending on the area of your body where the blood clots are located. Some of the symptoms include the following:
- For blood clots in the abdominal region – nausea, vomiting, and severe abdominal pain.
- For blood clots in the brain – stroke, slurred speech, double vision, seizures, immobility on one side of the body, numbness, and tingling sensations in your ligaments.
- For blood clots in the heart – heart attack, pain and tightness in the chest, cold sweat, pain traveling from your chest to your hands and feet, and difficulty breathing.
- For blood clots in the lungs – crushing chest pain, shortness of breath, sweating, coughing blood, or a taste of blood in your mouth.
- For blood clots in arms and legs – tenderness in your ligaments, swelling, redness, and unfamiliar warmth in some parts of your arms or legs.
Why Should You Seek Urgent Treatment?
When it comes to clotting, you need treatment for blood clots near you if your body does not clot as it should, and you equally need treatment if the blood clots begin to move around your body. The veins and arteries in your body deliver blood to various body organs. Clots traveling in your bloodstream can make it into your heart, brain, and other vital organs, causing significant health problems. Some fatal health issues that could result from the movement of blood clots in your body are heart attacks and strokes. In any case, be sure you visit a blood clot ER for urgent care if you suspect to have blood clots in your body.
Treating Blood Clots
Depending on the location of the blood clots in your body, treatment protocols will differ. Some patients need medicines called blood thinners or anticoagulants, while others may require surgery to remove the clots. The severity of your blood clots will also impact the kind of treatment your receive.