venography

A blood clot is a mass of blood that forms when platelets, proteins, and cells in the blood stick together. When you get hurt, your body forms a blood clot to stop the bleeding. After the bleeding stops and healing takes place, your body usually breaks down and removes the blood clot. But sometimes the blood clots form where they shouldn't, your body makes too many blood clots or abnormal blood clots, or the blood clots don't break down like they should. These blood clots can be dangerous and may cause other health problems.

Blood clots can form in, or travel to, the blood vessels in the limbs, lungs, brain, heart, and kidneys. The types of problems blood clots can cause will depend on where they are:

• Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) is a blood clot in a deep vein, usually in the lower leg, thigh, or pelvis. It can block a vein and cause damage to your leg.
• A pulmonary embolism (PE) can happen when a DVT breaks off and travels through the bloodstream to the lungs. A PE, especially if it is large, can damage your lungs and prevent your other organs from getting enough oxygen.
• Cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST) is a rare blood clot in the venous sinuses in your brain. Normally the venous sinuses drain blood from your brain. CVST blocks the blood from draining and can cause a hemorrhagic stroke.
• Blood clots in other parts of the body can cause problems such as an ischemic stroke, a heart attack, kidney problems, kidney failure, and pregnancy-related problems.

Certain factors can raise your risk of developing blood clots:

• Atherosclerosis
• Atrial fibrillation
• Being overweight or having obesity
• Cancer and cancer treatments
• Certain genetic disorders
• Certain surgeries
• COVID-19
• Diabetes
• Family history of blood clots
• Overweight and obesity
• Pregnancy and giving birth
• Serious injuries
• Some medicines, including birth control pills
• Smoking
• Staying in one position for a long time, such as being in the hospital or taking a long car or plane ride

The symptoms for blood clots can be different, depending on where the blood clot is:

• In the abdomen: Abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting
• In an arm or leg: Sudden or gradual pain, swelling, tenderness, and warmth
• In the lungs: Shortness of breath, pain with deep breathing, rapid breathing, and increased heart rate
• In the brain: Trouble speaking, vision problems, seizures, weakness on one side of the body, and sudden severe headache
• In the heart: Chest pain, sweating, shortness of breath, and pain in the left arm

To find out if you have one or more blood clots, your health care provider:

• Will do a physical exam.
• Will take your medical history, which includes asking about your symptoms.
• May order blood tests, including a D-dimer test.
• May order imaging tests, such as
  • Ultrasound.
  • X-rays of the veins (venography) or blood vessels (angiography) that are taken after you get an injection of special dye. The dye shows up on the x-ray and allows the provider to see how the blood flows.
  • CT Scan.

Treatments for blood clots depend on where the blood clot is located and how severe it is. Treatments may include:

• Blood thinners.
• Other medicines, including thrombolytics. Thrombolytics are medicines that dissolve blood clots. They are usually used where the blood clots are severe.
• Surgery and other procedures to remove the blood clots

You may be able to help prevent blood clots by:

• Moving around as soon as possible after having been confined to your bed, such as after surgery, illness, or injury
• Getting up and moving around every few hours when you have to sit for long periods of time, for example if you are on a long flight or car trip
• Wearing compression stockings after surgery or during a long flight
• Regular physical activity
• Not smoking
• Staying at a healthy weight

Some people at high risk may need to take blood thinners to prevent blood clots.

Deep vein thrombosis, or DVT, is a blood clot that forms in a vein deep in the body. Most deep vein clots occur in the lower leg or thigh. If the vein swells, the condition is called thrombophlebitis. A deep vein thrombosis can break loose and cause a serious problem in the lung, called a pulmonary embolism.

Sitting still for a long time can make you more likely to get a DVT. Some medicines and disorders that increase your risk for blood clots can also lead to DVTs. Common symptoms are :

• Warmth and tenderness over the vein
• Pain or swelling in the part of the body affected
• Skin redness

Treatment includes medicines to ease pain and inflammation, break up clots and keep new clots from forming. Keeping the affected area raised and applying moist heat can also help. If you are taking a long car or plane trip, take a break, walk or stretch your legs and drink plenty of liquids.

Varicose veins are swollen, twisted veins that you can see just under the skin. They usually occur in the legs, but also can form in other parts of the body. Hemorrhoids are a type of varicose vein.

Your veins have one-way valves that help keep blood flowing toward your heart. If the valves are weak or damaged, blood can back up and pool in your veins. This causes the veins to swell, which can lead to varicose veins.

Varicose veins are very common. You are more at risk if you are older, are female, have obesity, don't exercise, or have a family history of varicose veins. They can also be more common in pregnancy.

Doctors often diagnose varicose veins from a physical exam. Sometimes you may need additional tests.

Exercising, losing weight, elevating your legs when resting, and not crossing them when sitting can help keep varicose veins from getting worse. Wearing loose clothing and avoiding long periods of standing can also help. If varicose veins are painful or you don't like the way they look, your doctor may recommend procedures to remove them.

NIH: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

Your vascular system is your body's network of blood vessels. It includes your:

• Arteries, which carry oxygen-rich blood from your heart to your tissues and organs
• Veins, which carry the blood and waste products back to your heart
• Capillaries, which are tiny blood vessels that connect your small arteries to your small veins. The walls of the capillaries are thin and leaky, to allow for an exchange of materials between your tissues and blood.

Vascular diseases are conditions which affect your vascular system. They are common and can be serious. Some types include:

• Aneurysm - a bulge or "ballooning" in the wall of an artery
• Atherosclerosis - a disease in which plaque builds up inside your arteries. Plaque is made up of fat, cholesterol, calcium, and other substances found in the blood.
• Blood clots, including deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism
• Coronary artery disease and carotid artery disease, diseases that involve the narrowing or blockage of an artery. The cause is usually a buildup of plaque.
• Raynaud phenomenon - a disorder that causes the blood vessels to narrow when you are cold or feeling stressed
• Stroke - a serious condition that happens when blood flow to your brain stops.
• Varicose veins - swollen, twisted veins that you can see just under the skin
• Vasculitis - inflammation of the blood vessels

The causes of vascular diseases depend on the specific disease. These causes include:

• Genetics
• Heart diseases such as high cholesterol and high blood pressure
• Infection
• Injury
• Medicines, including hormones

Sometimes the cause is unknown.

The risk factors for vascular diseases can vary, depending on the specific disease. But some of the more common risk factors include:

• Age - your risk of some diseases goes up as you get older
• Conditions that can affect the heart and blood vessels, such as diabetes or high cholesterol
• Family history of vascular or heart diseases
• Infection or injury that damages your veins
• Lack of exercise
• Obesity
• Pregnancy
• Sitting or standing still for long periods of time
• Smoking

The symptoms for each disease are different.

To make a diagnosis, your health care provider will do a physical exam and ask about your symptoms and medical history. You may have imaging tests and/or blood tests.

Which treatment you get depends on which vascular disease you have and how severe it is. Types of treatments for vascular diseases include:

• Lifestyle changes, such as eating a heart-healthy diet and getting more exercise
• Medicines, such as blood pressure medicines, blood thinners, cholesterol medicines, and clot-dissolving drugs. In some cases, providers use a catheter to send medicine directly to a blood vessel.
• Non-surgical procedures, such as angioplasty, stenting, and vein ablation
• Surgery

There are steps you can take to help prevent vascular diseases:

• Make healthy lifestyle changes, such as eating a heart-healthy diet and getting more exercise
• Don't smoke. If you are already a smoker, talk to your health care provider for help in finding the best way for you to quit.
• Keep your blood pressure and cholesterol in check
• If you have diabetes, control your blood sugar
• Try not to sit or stand for up long periods of time. If you do need to sit all day, get up and move around every hour or so. If you are traveling on a long trip, you can also wear compression stockings and regularly stretch your legs.

X-rays are a painless medical imaging test. They send a small amount of radiation through your body to create pictures of bones and organs.

X-rays are a type of electromagnetic radiation. They create images in shades of black, white, and gray because different tissues absorb radiation differently. Bones absorb the most radiation and appear white. Fat and other soft tissues absorb less and appear gray. Air absorbs the least radiation, so areas like the lungs appear black.

The image is recorded on film or sent to a computer. Health care providers use x-rays to find health problems and to check how well certain treatments are working.

X-rays are commonly used to check for fractures (broken bones). They are also used for other purposes. For example, chest x-rays can detect pneumonia. Mammograms use x-rays to look for breast cancer. X-rays are also used as part of other imaging tests, such as CT scans.

In most cases, little or no preparation is needed. You may be asked to wear a lead apron to protect certain parts of your body. You may also be asked to remove jewelry or other items that could affect the image.

The amount of radiation from an x-ray is small. For example, the radiation from a chest x-ray is about the same as the natural radiation you are exposed to from the environment over about 10 days.

Always tell your provider if you are pregnant or think you may be pregnant.

Depending on the part of your body being examined, you may be asked to stand, sit, or lie down. You will need to stay still for a short time while the image is taken.

After an x-ray, you can return to normal activities right away. A specialist called a radiologist reviews the images and shares the results with your provider.