SYMPTOMS OF DEEP VEIN THROMBOSIS DVT TESTS FOR DVT AND PULMONARY EMBOLISM A BLOOD CLOT IN THE LUNGSSymptoms of a blood clot in the leg can be swelling of the leg, warmth and redness of the leg, pain in the leg that is noticeable, or worse when standing or walking or possible tenderness on touching the calf area. Prolonged immobilization such as sitting in a seat for hours on an airplane can increases the risk for blood clots. Recent surgery and a heart beat problem called atrial fibrillation all impact blood clot formation. A blood clot can travel into the lungs and become a pulmonary embolism.
What are Causes of Blood Clots: Tests for Pulmonary EmbolismProlonged immobilization increases risk for blood clots. also birth control medicine as well as trauma or recent surgery can be risk factors for blood clots. Anything that tends to make the blood flow slow or stall encourages problems. As well as damage to the blood vessel walls and anything altering the coagulability of blood. take for example the case of a twenty something woman who came to see the doctor because of a hard to describe discomfort or pain in her side. It had bothered her for the previous two days and when she had gone to see her regular physician the nurse had done a urine test and sent the woman home. but the woman had felt so bad that she and her husband went to see another physician
Closer questioning revealed that the woman had been on birth control pills and had injured her leg earlier in the week. now the doctor was suspicious of a blood clot. Birth control pills and trauma to the extremities are both risk factors for blood clots.The doctor sent her to the hospital where a test called a spiral CT scan demonstrated a blood clot in her lung. this woman had two things that increases chances of a blood clot.
Virchow’s Triad for blood clotsOver one hundred years ago a physician name Virchow elucidated Virchow’s Triad: three circumstances associated with an increased chance of a blood clot:
In light of this it’s easier to understand this list of some of the things associated with an increased chance of blood clots:
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Former Governor of Minnesota and wrestler Jesse Ventura had a pulmonary embolism the night he was scheduled to wrestle Hulk Hogan. And David Bloom, the television correspondent who was said to have had a blood clot as a result of prolonged time traveling in an armored vehicle. A pulmonary embolism is a blockage in an artery in the lungs caused by an embolus, a blood clot that has traveled from another place in the circulatory system such as a vein in a leg or in the pelvic area to the lungs to become a blood clot in the lung.
The Symptoms of a Pulmonary Embolism Blood Clot in the LungSymptoms can include:
How do They Test for Pulmonary Embolism and for a DVT Blood Clot The Ventilation Perfusion Test (The VQ Scan) and the Spiral CT ScanThe two most prominent tests for a pulmonary embolism are the VQ Scan and Spiral CT. Oxygen is exchanged between the air and the blood in the lungs. Thus there is ventilation of the lungs and also perfusion in the lungs by the blood. If there is a blood clot blocking some part of the lung one would expect to see a mismatch where there is not an approptiate blood flow to an area of the lung because of the clot blocking the area.
The perfusion scan is performed by injecting a radioactive substance with a short half life into a vein. The patient´s lungs are scanned to detect the location of the radioactive material as blood flows through the lungs. The ventilation scan is performed by scanning the lungs while having the person inhale radioactive gas with a short half life.
The Spiral CT ScanThe Spiral CT Scan is a newer and more sophisticated relation of the old CT scanner. It has detectors that rotate rapidly in a spiral and can image an area much faster than the older CT, so fast that it can get the whole image while a person holds their breath. Original CT scanners would spin 360° in one direction and make an image , then spin 360° in the other direction to make another cross section. between each image, the machine would stop completely and reverse directions while the patient table was moved forward incrementally. The spiral CT scanner rotates continuously and can scan entire anatomic regions in less than a minute.
Ultrasound and D DimerDVTs are most commonly detected by the use of an ultrasound scan of the legs or affected area. Blood tests can also give a good indication that there is a thrombosis which is a fancy word for blood clot. A blood test for something called D Dimer measures the levels of a by-product of clotting material that can be used to help rule out a blood clot. Since other things besides a dvt can give a positive D Dimer test it can’t be used alone to diagnose a dvt. A positive D-dimer indicates the presence of an abnormally high level of fibrin degradation products in the body and indicates that there has been significant clot (thrombus) formation and breakdown in the body, but it does not tell the location or cause. an elevated D-dimer may be due to a a number of other conditions besides a dvt. but a negative D Dimer is useful in ruling out a blood clot.