Blod Clot Symptoms in the Calf
Blood clots can affect any vein or artery in the body and are caused by a number of conditions or situations such as bed rest for long periods of time, recent surgery, pregnancy, airplane travel, varicose veins or a family history of clots. There are many symptoms of blood clots, some of which are specific to the area where the clot is located. Blood clots in any artery or vein, can lead to pulmonary embolism, which is a clot that has broken away and lodged itself in the lungs. This is a life threatening situation, and if you experience any of the symptoms, such as shortness of breath, rapid heart rate, sudden coughing and chest pain, immediately seek medical attention.
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Deep Vein Thrombosis
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Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT) is a condition caused by a blood clot in the large, deep veins of the legs and thighs. Symptoms include pain in one leg, typically in the calf, changes in skin color, swelling of the leg, tenderness and increased warmth in the leg. Pain in the calf isn't necessarily DVT, unless it is accompanied by one or more of the other symptoms.
Leg pain
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Pain in the calf or elsewhere in the leg, when walking, could indicate atherosclerosis, a condition caused by blocked blood flow to the arteries. Deep Vein Thrombosis will also produce leg pain in the calf. Varicose veins, a condition caused by valves that don't function properly, is another circulatory condition that can cause leg pain in the calf, though typically it is not a sharp pain but a feeling of "fullness, heaviness or aching, " according to MedlinePlus.
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Diagnosis
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If you present with symptoms such as calf pain and also have other symptoms to support the possibility of a circulatory problem, a simple, non-invasive Doppler Ultrasound can be performed, leg venography which is an x-ray of the veins, a plethysmography, which is a test used to measure changes in blood flow or air volume in different parts of the body or some blood tests to measure your coagulation factors. Depending on the results of the tests, your doctor will prescribe a treatment regimen for you.
Function
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Venous Thromboembolism is a term used to describe both Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT) and Pulmonary Embolism (PE). Both are blood clots, but DVT is typically a precursor to PE. Your calf muscles, when used, contract and activate the valves that pump the blood from the veins back to the heart. When these valves don't work, or the veins swell and allow blood that has collected to go backwards, from the heart, the blood pools in the veins and causes the leg pain associated with DVT, according to the Vascular Disease Foundation.
Warning
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Though Deep Vein Thrombosis by itself is not life threatening, it can be if a clot breaks loose. Each year, according to the Vascular Disease Foundation, over 60,000 people die from pulmonary embolism, making it the third most common cause of vascular death.
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