Thrombosis in the leg

Synonyms

thrombus, blood clot, blood clot

Definition

A thrombosis is a blood clot that forms in the body’s venous system, closes a blood vessel and prevents venous blood flow to the affected area. Thromboses often occur in the deep veins of the legs and pelvis, less frequently in arm veins.

Introduction

Thrombi that develop in the venous vascular system more often affect older people over 60 years of age who are bedridden or immobile due to other diseases. But young people, especially young women who take oral contraceptives, also belong to the risk group for thrombotic diseases. In addition to pelvic vein thromboses, thromboses in deep leg veins are the most common type.

A thrombosis is a medical emergency and requires immediate medical treatment to prevent complications such as pulmonary embolism. Thromboses in deep leg veins are the most common type in addition to pelvic vein thromboses. A thrombosis is a medical emergency and requires immediate medical treatment to prevent complications such as pulmonary embolism.

Symptoms

Symptomatically, the first thing that stands out is a thrombosis in the leg due to severe pain. Patients characterize this pain as tension pain, pulling pain and occasionally as a feeling of heaviness. If the affected limb is elevated, the pain decreases noticeably.

Compared to the other leg, the leg affected by thrombosis is swollen, strongly overheated and has a taut, shiny red to bluish colored skin. There is sensitivity to pressure and pain in movement, especially when bending the sole of the foot. Rare symptoms such as fever or pulse rate increase occur only in a fraction of cases.

Only 10% of patients who develop acute leg vein thrombosis notice them by the typical symptoms of swelling, pain and blue discoloration. The swelling is caused by the fact that blood continues to be supplied to the clogged vessel but cannot be passed on. The aqueous components of the blood then pass from the blood vessel into the surrounding tissue and an oedema develops, a watery swelling. The more pronounced the swelling, the more dangerous it becomes. The swelling can progress until it presses off arterial vessels.