Do you have varicose veins? If you do, your legs may ache and swell after a long day, even if you wear support hosiery.
Along with varicose veins, your doctor may tell you that you have chronic venous insufficiency. Your blood isn’t circulating up and down your legs normally.
Valves that open and close to move your blood through your body may be faulty, allowing blood to pool and become stagnant. When this occurs, you’re at risk for leg ulcers or even deep vein thrombosis (DVT), a serious condition where a blood clot forms in your vein.
DVT often occurs in your leg, but it can also occur deep inside your body in other areas. Our board-certified radiologists with REDI Diagnostics Corp in Elmwood Park, New Jersey, use modern imaging techniques, including vascular ultrasound, to determine if you have a blood clot in a vein deep within your skin. Your doctor then treats the clot with medication to dissolve it.
Blood clots in your legs that aren’t properly treated can cause significant chronic pain and swelling. The leaky valves lead to long-term vein damage.
In addition, blood clots are dangerous because they block the flow of life-giving blood through an area of your body. Blood carries oxygen and important nutrients such as growth factors and antioxidants that keep your tissues alive and well.
The majority of blood clots form in the leg, but they can also develop in other areas. If blood is blocked to your brain, you suffer a stroke, which can cause paralysis, brain damage, and death.
Blood clots can also travel; they don’t always remain where they form. A blood clot that forms in your leg can travel upward and lodge in the blood vessels of your lung, causing a pulmonary embolism, a life-threatening condition.
Your doctor may order a vascular ultrasound and possibly an MRI if they suspect you have a blood clot. During both tests, we scan the area of your body in question. Both tests are painless and noninvasive.
Now that you know the dangers of DVT, you need to know the signs to look for. If you have any of these symptoms, you need immediate medical attention.
Several conditions place you at increased risk for DVT.
If you have varicose veins, you’re at much greater risk of developing DVT than someone who doesn’t, and your risk increases with their degree of severity.
A blood test can tell you whether you have a genetic condition, such as Factor V Leiden, that causes your blood to clot more than normal.
If you’ve had surgery or a long illness and haven’t been able to get up and walk around for a period of time, you’re more at risk of a blood clot. Likewise, traveling for many hours without getting up and moving your legs can increase your risk.
Having lupus or another autoimmune disease also increases your risk for DVT.
Being overweight creates additional pressure on your veins, reducing blood flow and increasing the chances of blood pooling in your veins.
Smoking constricts your blood flow. Nicotine harms your blood vessels.
Call REDI Diagnostics Corp or book an appointment online today if you need a vascular ultrasound or other imaging test to help pinpoint your problem.
