How Is It Diagnosed
A hematologist uses physical examinations, the patient’s medical history and laboratory testing to assess hematological diseases. Whether the blood counts are too high or too low, one of the more common diagnostic dilemmas is separating a secondary or “reactive” phenomenon from a primary hematologic or bone marrow condition. Frequently a bone marrow biopsy will be needed for this purpose. This usually includes a study of the chromosomes and an examination of the surface proteins or receptors on the bone marrow cells . The latter is a very sensitive test for ruling out a lymphoproliferative disorder, such as chronic lymphocytic leukemia or lymphoma. Other specialized testing is needed to rule out hemolysis or the rapid breakdown or destruction of red blood cells. Still further testing is required to look for the presence of organ problems , connective tissue disorders , and cancer, all of which can have indirect effects on the bone marrow or blood.
Chest Pain Or Pain With Deep Breathing
If a blood clot travels to the lungs it is referred to as a pulmonary embolism, which as we previously mentioned can be life-threatening. A pulmonary embolism happens when a blood clot travels into the lungs and blocks a blood vessel. One of the main symptoms to watch for is chest pain or general discomfort while breathing. Due to the pain, it can also be difficult to take a deep breath.
A blood clot in the lungs isnt the only thing we should be weary of when it comes to chest pain. It could also mean a clot has formed in one of the arteries of the heart, which WebMD warns could lead to a heart attack.
How Will You Treat My Clot
Even if it means a trip to the emergency room, see a doctor at the first sign of a clot. If you do have a clot, youll need one of two treatments: medication or interventions involving medical devices.
Oral or intravenous blood thinners can help manage a blood clot. Alternatively, your doctor may insert a wire or catheter to try and open up your blood vessels. Finally, in certain situations, your healthcare provider may surgically remove the blood clot
The good news is: blood clot treatments are fairly effective, especially if they are administered quickly. But in order to benefit from these treatments, you must be seen before the clot grows or causes additional damage like a heart attack or stroke. For that reason, we cant emphasize this enough: seek immediate medical attention from your Houston vein specialists at the first sign of a suspected blood clot!
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Key Points About Polycythemia Vera
- Polycythemia vera is a rare blood disorder in which there is an increase in all blood cells, particularly red blood cells.
- The increase in blood cells makes the blood thicker.
- Thick blood can lead to strokes or tissue and organ damage.
- Symptoms include lack of energy or weakness, headaches, dizziness, shortness of breath, visual disturbances, nose bleeds, bleeding gums, heavy menstrual periods, and bruising.
- Treatment may include medicines and phlebotomy, a procedure that removes extra blood from your body.
What Are The Symptoms Of Polycythemia Vera
When you have more blood and it is thicker than normal, problems can occur. Each persons symptoms may vary. Symptoms may include:
- Lack of energy or weakness
- Headache
- Numbness
- High blood pressure
These symptoms may look like other blood disorders or health problems. Always see your healthcare provider for a diagnosis.
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How To Manage Side Effects
Get your blood checked often if youre on warfarin or heparin. This is an international normalized ration test. It tells you how long it takes your blood to clot.
You can also try to stop uncontrollable bleeding before it starts. Here are a few tips:
- Use a soft toothbrush and waxed dental floss
- Use an electric razor
What Are The Signs Of A Blood Clot In The Leg Or Arm
If a blood clot in the arm or leg is small enough, you may not have any symptoms. With a large clot, your entire leg might swell. The pain may feel like a pulled muscle or a Charlie horse.
The most common place for blood clots is the lower leg. Its unusual to have clots in both arms or both legs at once. So, if you experience symptoms in only one leg or arm, they may indicate a blood clot.
A clot in your arm or leg may not be dangerous there, but it poses a risk of breaking off and lodging in your lungs. This is known as a pulmonary embolism and can be fatal.
Signs of a blood clot in the arm and leg include:
- Pain
- Redness or bluish skin coloration
- Swelling
- Increased warmth in the part of the limb thats swollen or hurting
- Loss of feeling or numbness in the limb
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Early Warning Signs And Symptoms Of A Blood Clot
Symptoms of a blood clot include:
- Pain. As the clot gets worse, you may feel a sensation ranging from a dull ache to intense pain. The pain may throb in your leg, belly, or even arm.
- Swelling in the spot where the blood clot has formed or throughout your entire arm or leg.
- Change in color. Your arm or leg may take on a red or blue tinge or may become itchy.
- Warmer skin in the area around the blood clot.
- Lower leg cramp or charley horse if the blood clot is in your calf.
- Fluid build-up or pitting edema. A blood clot can cause fluid to build up in the arms or legs quickly. When you press on the swollen area, it can cause a dimple or pit that remains for a few seconds.
- Swollen veins with pain that increases when touched.
- Trouble breathing. Difficulty breathing could be a sign of a blood clot in your lungs. You may experience a bad cough and even cough up some blood. You may get chest pain or feel dizzy.
Blood Clot In The Stool Can Due To Blood Disorders
A blood clot in the stool may also result from any underlying blood disorder in the patient. It is not very uncommon to develop unnecessary blood clotting in the stomach or gastrointestinal system when a clotting disorder is present.
Blood clots in stool has also been observed in patients with cancerous tumors as well as inflammatory bowel syndrome. Stomach cancer and colon cancer are some serious medical concerns that are also known causes of blood clots in the stool. Also, any other disease that develops internal bleeding can result to a blood clot in the stool of the patient.
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What Is A Clot Break
A clot break is a serious medical complication. This can happen when a DVT breaks loose from your legs and travels to your lungs . A clot break could also travel from your heart to your brain, with vascular flow. And this is obviously a potentially fatal complication. With a clot break, you may experience symptoms such as shortness of breath , an unexplained cough, chest pain, an increased heart rate and fatigue. Your breath may also come quickly, and you may notice pain in your rib cage, especially when you breathe deeply.
If the clot travels to your brain, the symptoms include loss of strength in your arms and legs, slurred speech and, sadly, sudden death.
If youre at increased risk see your doctor for any of these symptoms. A blood clot can quickly become a medical emergency.
What Are The Causes Of Large Clots During Period
Top 6 Causes Of Blood Clots During Periods Causes of Blood Clots During Periods. Normally blood produces anticoagulant factors which maintains the viscosity of blood and do not let blood clot but sometimes when the flow is heavy The Common Causes Of Blood Clots Include. PCOS is the most common female hormonal problem. Also Read.
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Joint Pain And Muscle Cramping
Poor circulation can cause pain in the legs, feet, arms, and hands.
Cold hands and feet may ache or throb, especially as they start to warm and blood flow returns.
Poor circulation in the legs and arms can also cause these areas to ache, including the calf muscles. This type of pain in the legs is often worse when sitting or standing for long periods.
Also, when the blood does not circulate correctly, oxygen and nutrients cannot reach tissues effectively, which can result in stiffness and cramping.
How Are Blood Clots Found And Diagnosed
The first step in making the diagnosis of a blood clot is talking to the patient and family to understand the situation. The location of the blood clot and its effect on blood flow is what causes symptoms and signs. If a blood clot or thrombus is a consideration, the history may explore risk factors or situations that might put the patient at risk for forming a clot.
Venous blood clots often develop slowly with a gradual onset of swelling, pain, and discoloration. Symptoms of a venous thrombus will often progress over hours.
Arterial thrombi occur as an acute event. Tissues need oxygen immediately, and the loss of blood supply creates a situation in which symptoms begin immediately.
Arterial thrombi occur as an acute event. Tissues need oxygen immediately, and the loss of blood supply creates a situation in which symptoms begin immediately.
There may be symptoms that precede the acute artery blockage that may be warning signs of the potential future complete occlusion of the blood vessel.
- Patients with an acute heart attack may experience angina or chest discomfort in the days and weeks prior to the heart attack. It is important to remember that women may experience atypical and non-specific symptoms as part of their angina equivalent, including fatigue and malaise.
- Patients with peripheral artery disease may have pain with walking
- A TIA in which the symptoms resolve without treatment may precede a stroke.
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How Is Polycythemia Vera Treated
Your healthcare provider will figure out the best treatment based on:
- Your age, overall health, and medical history
- How sick you are
- How well you handle certain medicines, treatments, or therapies
- If your condition is expected to get worse
- What you would like to do
Treatment may include:
- Phlebotomy. This procedure removes blood from your body. At first this must be done often, such as every week. Once enough blood has been removed to reduce your body’s iron stores , you will not need this done as often.
- Certain medicines, including chemotherapy. The medicines help to stop your bone marrow from making too many blood cells. They also keep your blood flow and blood thickness closer to normal.
What Are The Treatment Options
Treatments vary depending on the type of disease, and can include simple observation, use of steroids and other immune-modulating therapies, transfusions or coagulation factor support, growth factor supplementation, complex chemotherapy and bone marrow transplantation.
Anemia
For chronic anemia, the underlying disease is attended to, often improving the anemia. If that’s not possible and the patient’s anemia is causing symptoms, red blood cell transfusions may be necessary. Recombinant human erythropoietin can be given, weekly or biweekly, and usually indefinitely. The erythropoietins are also useful in other types of anemia in which there is an underproduction of red blood cells in the bone marrow, such as chemotherapy-induced anemia, myelodysplastic syndrome, and aplastic anemia. They are particularly useful in the anemia of kidney disease which is caused by an underproduction of erythropoietin in certain specialized cells of the kidney.
If nutritional deficiencies are the cause, oral iron tablets, vitamin B12 injections, or and oral folic acid may be prescribed.
Thrombocytopenia
Myeloproliferative diseases-polycythemia vera, essential thrombocythemia, and primary myelofibrosis
Coagulation disorders
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Blood Clots In Stool May Accompany Other Signs And Symptoms Of Thrombosis In General
Other symptoms of thrombosis may be experienced along with the display of blood clots in the stool. These symptoms include general body weakness, fatigue, rapid breathing, increased heart rate, dizziness, and shortness of breath.
The signs and symptoms that accompany the display of blood clots in stool will altogether help in identifying specific details in the diagnosis of the thrombosis that has developed.
Symptoms Of An Embolism
The symptoms of an embolism depend on the particular type of embolism involved.
The main symptoms of a stroke are drooping of the face, weakness or numbness in one arm, and slurred speech, or an inability to talk or understand what is being said.
Dial 999 immediately to ask for an ambulance if you suspect that you or someone else is having a stroke.
If you have a pulmonary embolism you’ll have a sharp or stabbing chest pain that starts suddenly or comes on gradually. Shortness of breath, coughing up blood and feeling faint or dizzy, or passing out are also common symptoms.
Deep vein thrombosis is a blood clot in the deep veins of your leg. Its one of the main causes of pulmonary embolisms.DVT sometimes doesn’t cause any symptoms. However, symptoms can include:
- pain, swelling and tenderness in one of your legs
- a heavy ache in the affected area
- warm skin in the area of the clot
- red skin, particularly at the back of your leg below the knee
Get immediate medical help if you have pain, swelling and tenderness in your leg and you develop breathlessness and chest pain.
You may have a DVT that’s developed into a pulmonary embolism.
Divers should always be carefully monitored by their colleagues and supervisors so any air or gas embolism can be identified and treated immediately. Read about the warning signs of an air embolism.
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Asymptomaticor Experiencing No Symptoms
One of the reasons a DVT is so scary is because it often shows no symptoms at all. At least with a showcase of symptoms we know to seek medical attention, but sometimes the damage is done before we even know its happening. Therefore its important to take preventative measures so that it doesnt happen in the first place. Try to avoid sitting for lengthy periods of time, because a person is more likely to get DVT if they havent moved around, like during a long flight, work day, or surgery.
Smoking And Blood Clots In Stool
Cigarette smoking is widely known to be a threat to general body health. A development of thrombosis as evidenced by blood clots in stool can be associated as a result of smoking.
People who smoke have a higher chance of developing bowel cancer. Apart from that, it makes the stomach environment a possible location for the formation of abnormal blood clotting which ends up noticeable in the stool. Hence, to avoid smoking reduces the risk of thrombosis in the digestive system.
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Common Signs And Symptoms Of A Blood Clot
Health Check Certified By: Dr. Gerald Morris
Blood clots typically form deep within the veins of the legs, which is referred to as deep vein thrombosis , and can travel through the body. In addition to being potentially life threatening, one of the scariest parts about a blood clot is that most times they go undetected, resulting in pulmonary embolism and death when leg clots break free and become lodged in the lungs.
In order to protect ourselves from this potentially dangerous condition, read up on the 15 most common signs of a blood clot
How Is Polycythemia Vera Diagnosed
Your healthcare provider will take your medical history and give you a physical exam. Your provider may also do blood tests. These tests will check the increased number of red blood cells in your body. They will also check if there are other conditions that could cause your higher red blood cell count.
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What Are The Symptoms Of Pe
In some cases, PE may occur very suddenly, without any warning. The symptoms of PE, when noted, are also very nonspecific. For example, shortness of breath and chest pain may occur with pneumonia, bronchitis, or other lung or heart problems. Chest pain may be caused by a number of problems, including muscle strain, heart problems, lung infections, stomach problems such as acid reflux or hiatal hernia, or even anxiety. Whenever a patient has symptoms such as shortness of breath or chest pain, especially when the person has other risk factors for DVT , PE should be considered as a possibility.
How Is Dvt Detected
If your doctor suspects you have a blood clot, he or she will likely order more tests. The two main tests used to confirm DVT are:
- D-dimer test is a blood test for a specific protein called D-dimer. D-dimer is produced when a blood clot dissolves inside the body. High levels of it may signify DVT. This test can be done in your doctors office or lab.
- Ultrasound is the imaging technique most often used to diagnose DVT. It uses sound waves to make images of the inside of your body and can reveal any clots in the veins. If your doctor thinks you may be high risk for DVT, they may skip the D-dimer test and go right to the ultrasound.
DVT is treatable, so dont wait for your symptoms to worsen before getting in touch with your doctor.
If you think you may have deep vein thrombosis, visit the UPMC Heart and Vascular Institute online to learn more or to schedule an appointment with an expert.
Editor’s Note: This gallery was originally published on March 3, 2015
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