A new study in the United Kingdom pointed out that COVID-19 increases the risk of arterial thrombosis and venous thromboembolic events (VTEs). (Shutterstock)

A new study published in Circulation pointed out that COVID-19 can induce thrombosis. The study encompassed a population-wide cohort of 48 million adults in England and Wales and estimated that after 49 weeks of COVID-19 diagnosis, the risk of arterial thrombosis and venous thrombosis events (VTEs) increased.

The research team suggested that the strategies to prevent vascular events after COVID-19 are particularly important after severe COVID-19 leading to hospitalization and new simple treatment strategies to reduce infection-associated VTEs and arterial thrombosis are needed.

Relationship Between Coronavirus and Blood Clots

From Jan. 1 to Dec. 7, 2020, the team studied the incidence of arterial thrombosis and VTEs after being diagnosed with COVID-19. Among the 48 million adults studied in the UK, 125,985 confirmed cases were hospitalized patients, while 1,319,789 were outpatients within 28 days of COVID-19 diagnosis.

The study revealed that 49 weeks after being infected with COVID-19, the risk of arterial thrombosis and VTEs in coronavirus-infected patients increased by 0.5 percent and 0.25 percent, respectively. There were an estimated 10,500 excess arterial thromboses and VTEs after 1.4 million COVID-19 diagnoses.

In the annual follow-up visits of 41.6 million patients, 260,279 cases were first-timers of arterial thrombosis, while 59,421 cases were the first VTEs.

The study supports early detection and prevention strategies, risk factor control, and the use of a secondary preventive agency to reduce blood pressure and prevent blood clots from forming in high-risk patients.

Since the blood clots impact people with only mild diseases. The study also suggested that new simple treatment strategies are needed to reduce infection-associated venous thromboembolism and arterial thrombosis.

Are There Treatments Available?

Western medicine usually adopts anticoagulants (blood thinners) and thrombolytic therapy (drugs to break up blood clots) to tackle thrombosis. However, this method also carries the risk of side effects such as bleeding and allergies.

There is a wide variety of traditional Chinese medicines (TCM) that promote blood circulation and remove stasis. These medications are mild and effective and include dong quai, dang shen root, safflower, hawthorn, Sanqi, motherwort, red peony, tree peony bark, Chuanxiong, and peach seeds.

Simple Superfoods To Reduce Blood Clots

In TCM, it is believed that food and medicine are synergistic, and can achieve the purpose of health care and disease prevention through the deployment and intake. Some simple superfoods found at grocery stores can help reduce the blood clots.

Tomatoes

In food therapy, tomatoes promote blood circulation and remove blood stasis. A study published in Frontiers in Nutrition found that after-soluble tomato concentrate (WSTC), extracted from mature tomatoes, can help maintain normal platelet activity for healthy blood flow.

WSTC exerted obvious inhibitory affects on the platelet aggregation induced by shear flow and alleviated the blood flow and microcirculation abnormities induced by an inflammatory reaction.

Pectin and Flavonoids

Pectin lowers cholesterol, while flavonoids are an anticoagulant. The yellow colloid around the grain contains hesperetin which prevents platelet aggregation and atherosclerosis and improves blood circulation. You may find it in natural jams or jellies.

A study published in European Journal of Clinical Nutrition suggests that viscous fibers typically reduce total cholesterol by 3 to 7 percent in humans. The cholesterol-lowering properties of the viscous fiber pectin may depend on its physicochemical properties (viscosity, molecular weight (MW), and degree of esterification (DE)). Pectin with both high DE and high MW was important for cholesterol lowering. 

A scientific review published in Life mentioned that phenolic compounds, mainly polyphenols, and flavonoids, secondary metabolites found in large amounts in plants and in their extracts, are potent antioxidants with anti-inflammatory, antiplatelet, and anticoagulant activity. Due to the described properties, polyphenols and flavonoid extracts from plants could be very useful in both the prevention and treatment of thromboembolic complications. 

Hawthorn

Hawthorn, mentioned in Shijian Herb, an encyclopedia of Chinese herbs in food therapy, dissolves blood clots and promotes blood circulation. The flavonoids in hawthorn relax the peripheral blood vessels, dilate the coronary artery, lower lipids, and strengthen the heart.

A review article published in Front Pharmacol found that hawthorn extracts possess cardioprotective and anti-atherosclerotic properties and contain major bioactive components identified as flavonoids, polyphenols, and oligomeric procyanidins. The underlying mechanisms are associated with reduced serum lipid contents, suppressed plaque formation, and maintained normal function of endothelial cells.

Vinegar

Vinegar is known to activate blood circulation and dispel blood stasis. It improves the digestive system, dissolves accumulation, reduces swelling, and strengthens the weak while detoxifying and healing sores. In the book Herbal Truth, vinegar has been documented for many years for its use in removing stasis. It also has been used to detoxify,  and improve the digestive system.

A study published in Lipids in Health and Disease found that using a high-dose vinegar with a cholesterolemic diet caused significant reduction in LDL-cholesterol, oxidized-LDL, malondialdehyde, total cholesterol, and apolipoprotein B in comparison with a hypercholesterolemic diet in rabbits. The result suggests that vinegar might have some acute effects on biochemical risk factors of atherosclerosis and a probable protective value can be considered for its postprandial use.

Corn Oil

Corn oil is rich in essential lipid acids such as lactic acid and linoleic acid, which aid blood lipid regulation while softening blood vessels and preventing thrombosis.

A study published in Journal of Lipid Research found that corn oil had a beneficial effect on the arterial thrombosis tendency. Serum vitamin K and triglycerides had decreased substantially after the diet, indicating that corn oil may have a mild anticoagulant effect.

Notoginseng

Notoginseng (san qi) and female ginseng (dong quai) can also be implemented as food therapy to maintain good health.

A study published in Journal of Ethnopharmacology showed that both raw and steamed Panax notoginseng significantly inhibited platelet aggregation and plasma coagulation. Steamed Panax notoginseng has significantly more potent antiplatelet and anticoagulant effects than the raw extract. The result suggests that Panax notoginseng may be a good source of lead compounds for novel antiplatelet and anticoagulant therapeutics.