Blood Clot in Legs

Blood clots form when blood cells coagulate in veins and arteries, sometimes causing blockages.

Blood clots can occur all over the body, and how dangerous a blood clot can be is directly related to the location in which it forms. Blood clots in the heart can cause heart attacks, and blood clots in the brain can cause a stroke. While these locations are obviously dangerous spots for a blood clot to form, a blood clot in the legs is actually the most dangerous.

Deep Vein Thrombosis

The reason a blood clot in the legs is so dangerous is because it is a sign of deep-vein thrombosis, which is a blood clot disease that causes blood clots to form in the leg, thighs, or pelvic area. The danger of blood clots in the legs is that the deep veins run directly to the lungs, which means that the blood clot can dislodge from the leg and become stuck in the lung, causing a potentially fatal pulmonary embolism.

Symptoms

Symptoms for blood clots in the legs are leg swelling, pain while walking, increased pain at bending of the foot, leg cramps that are especially bad at night, white or blue skin discoloration and a warm red rash that will not go away. The scary thing about blood clots in the legs is that between 30-50% of people with deep-vein thrombosis never experience any symptoms. In those cases, there is a very real possibility that the clot can lead to death.

Causes

There are various causes for blood clots in the legs, some of which are: obesity, smoking, blood vessel damage, changes in blood flow, genetic defects, recent childbirth, and old age. Recent injuries to the lower body, such as leg, thigh or pelvic fractures can also cause blood clots in the legs. While causes like genetic defects cannot be prevented, the good news is that causes like obesity and smoking can be eliminated by a healthier lifestyle. Exercising causes the blood to circulate more in order to meet the oxygen your body is demanding, and the better the blood circulates the less chance that it will clot. With that being said, exercise is the best preventive measure that can be taken to avoid blood clots in the legs.

While blood clots in places like the arm can be harmless and dissolve on their own without treatment, blood clots in the legs can lead to deep-vein thrombosis and result in a fatal pulmonary embolism. Blood clots can often be hard to detect; therefore, it is important to know the symptoms to know when to contact a medical professional.