heart and vascular institute

What Everyone Should Know About Blood Clots .

Posted by

0


Just like a traffic jam on the highway, blood clots impede normal circulation in your body and can be dangerous. Here are some blood clot basics and information on steps you can take to help avoid the problem.

Signs of a serious blood clot

Thrombosis is a medical term for blood clot. Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) occurs in one of the large veins, usually in your legs. DVT can cause pain and swelling in the area where blood clots form. The area might also be reddened and feel warm to the touch.

The most common complication from DVT is pulmonary embolism (blockage), which occurs when a clot or part of a clot breaks off and lodges in the lungs. Symptoms of pulmonary embolism include shortness of breath and sudden pain in the chest that gets worse when you breathe deeply.

Risk factors and ways to avoid DVT

Anybody can get DVT, but surgery or injury increases your risk, as does increasing age and weight gain. Some people have clotting disorders that increase their risk for DVT.

Ways to avoid DVT include:

Quitting smoking, maintaining a healthy weight and exercising regularly.
If you are hospitalized, ask your healthcare providers about available DVT prevention, such as mechanical devices to aid circulation.
If you are on a long flight, or if you sit for hours, wear compression stockings and get up and move around or perform stretching exercises.
“As many as 60 percent of all people who suffer an episode of deep vein thrombosis will also develop post-thrombotic syndrome,” says vascular medicine specialist Natalie Evans, MD.

This syndrome can cause long-term pain, swelling and even ulcers.

Blood thinners and what not to eat

Physicians prescribe blood thinners to some DVT patients to prevent future clotting. Warfarin or Coumadin is a type of blood thinner that has been used for decades, but frequent blood tests are needed to monitor dosage.

Dr. Evans adds, “Patients should talk with their doctor or pharmacist…to learn about potential interactions with foods and drugs.”

The Vitamin K found in greens and other foods can interfere with Coumadin’s effects. There’s a long list of foods that you should eat only in moderation while you are on the drug.

Cranberries and cranberry products like cranberry juice can intensify Coumadin’s effect, so it’s best to avoid them while you are on the drug.

Pros and cons of new medications

Newer blood-thinner medications, including rivaroxaban (Xarelto), apixaban (Eliquis) and dabigatran (Pradaxa), can be used for DVT prevention and do not require frequent blood tests, making them more convenient.

These new-generation blood thinners also may have fewer negative interactions with foods and other drugs. However, they are also more expensive than warfarin, and a specific antidote, in cases of bleeding, is not available. Patients should talk to their physician about the risks and benefits of taking these medications.

Beware of high impact sports

If you’re taking blood thinners, participating in high-impact sports can lead to potentially dangerous bleeding. Dr. Evans says that during exercise, “people who’ve had DVT and PE in the past need to be aware of the symptoms of recurrent clots, that is, leg pain and swelling, shortness of breath, chest pain that’s worse with deep breathing.”

While you are on blood thinners, there’s always a danger from cuts or bruising, even in going about your everyday activities like shaving or gardening.

Keep a medical card in your wallet that says you are on blood thinners, and never take any prescription or non-prescription medications without talking with your doctor first.

 

A Rare Disease That’s More Common Than You Think .

Posted by

0


When people think of blood clotting disorders, Factor V (“Five”) Leiden isn’t the first one that comes to mind. But it could be more common than you think.

As many as 3-8 percent of all people who have European roots carry the gene mutation, and it is the most common inherited blood clotting disorder, also known as thrombophilia. It is rare in African-Americans and Asians.

With Factor V Leiden thrombophilia, your blood has a tendency to form abnormal blood clots that can block your blood vessels. Though Factor V Leiden doesn’t automatically cause blood clots, it does increase any existing risk factors you already have. There are many risk factors but the more common ones include cancer, prolonged immobilization, following surgery, pregnancy, hormone therapy, injury or trauma. Anyone who has increased risk factors should talk with their doctor about how to improve their odds to keep healthy blood flowing smoothly.

Select few experience blood clot symptoms

Your blood has substances in it that help you stop bleeding when you cut yourself or you get injured. These substances are not supposed to clump up in the arteries or the veins under normal circumstances, though. The faulty gene in Factor V Leiden increases the likelihood that clots can form in blood vessels where they are not wanted.

Blood clots that form in blood vessels can be dangerous when they block blood flow to the legs (deep venous thrombosis) or break off and travel to the lungs where they can cause a pulmonary embolism, a medical emergency.

Not all people who have Factor V Leiden develop blood clots. In fact, only 10 percent of all those with the disorder ever experience any blood clotting problems.

blood clot

Reducing your risk

John R. Bartholomew, MD, Section Head of Vascular Medicine and Director of the Thrombosis Center at Cleveland Clinic, says that patients should keep news about the mysterious-sounding disorder in perspective. “Factor V Leiden is a relatively uncommon condition even among the population group most often affected by it,” he said.

Though you are unlikely to have the pair of genes that cause Factor V Leiden, it’s always a good idea to assess your risk factor for cardiovascular problems.

Some things that increase your risk for blood clots are beyond your control, such as recovering from surgery, having certain diseases or being injured, but other risk factors are within your control.

Dr. Bartholomew says, “Everyone should act to eliminate any risk factors that are under their control, namely quitting smoking, losing weight, and being physically active. This is especially important for patients who have thrombophilia. They should also notify all of their doctors if they have this condition.”

Factor V Leiden provides a good reminder to people to pay attention to the risk of blood clots, and how important it is to help avoid them by changing some bad habits, exchanging them for healthy ones instead.

Echocardiography on the Space Station.

Posted by

0


How do you detect heart disease when you’re in space and the nearest cardiologist is 230 miles below? Cleveland Clinic’s James Thomas, MD, helped find a way.

There is no Cleveland Clinic in space. Yet. But today’s space travelers benefit from innovations led by Cleveland Clinic cardiologist James D. Thomas, MD. Back in 1997, Dr. Thomas received a grant from NASA to develop a digital echocardiology services for the International Space Station (ISS). He and his team developed the means to read echocardiograms from the space station, and today, ultrasound equipment is part of the medical monitoring gear on the ISS.

“Echocardiography stands out as the only thing that is going to work in space,” Dr. Thomas told theHeart.org in 1999, “It doesn’t have radiation, it doesn’t have a magnet. It’s relatively low power and it’s light-weight.”

Today, he is studying the effects of prolonged weightlessness on the astronauts’ hearts. “About once a month we can monitor echocardiograms being performed up in space as they are broadcast live via the secure NASA science network,” says Dr. Thomas. “This is going to teach us a great deal about what happens to the heart in space, and may explain why the astronauts have problems with low blood pressure when they come back to earth or difficulties exerting themselves. This is critical information that we need so that we can develop countermeasures that can keep astronauts healthy as we extend our reach ever farther from earth, perhaps even to Mars in the next few decades.”

In addition to being a staff cardiologist at Cleveland Clinic, Dr. Thomas is also Lead Scientist for Ultrasound at NASA.

Watch Dr Thomas on youtube:   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f58Z2EHwEMM&feature=player_embedded

Source: Cleveland Clinic.