What are the best treatments for blood clots in the legs?

A blood clot is basically a semi-solid clump of blood that forms inside the blood vessel. And blood clots mostly form in the legs. Blood clots develop because of a longer period of immobility which damages the lining of the blood vessels and makes changes in the chemistry of blood. This may happen to anyone; however, some people are more at risk.

The risk factors include:

• age
• overweight or obesity
• family history of blood clots
• recent injury or major surgery
• being pregnant or recently pregnant
• extended travel or bed rest
• recently having cancer
• taking estrogen-based birth control or hormone therapy

If you do not undergo any treatment, the blood clots can travel to your organs and cause conditions that can be life-threatening. Some of the conditions that can happen because of blood clots traveling to organs are stroke, pulmonary embolism, and cardiac arrest. Therefore, anyone with this issue needs to get the right treatment.

Here are some of the medical treatments for blood clots in the legs.

• Anticoagulant medications

Also called blood thinners, anticoagulant medications are one of the most common treatments for treating blood clots. As you start taking these medications, the chances of the formation of new clots will lessen. These medications will also help in breaking up the existing clots in the body.

• Warfarin

It is a prescription anticoagulant that blocks the formation of substances in the blood which is called a clotting factor. These substances promote the clotting of blood.

• Enoxaparin

You can find Enoxaparin being sold under the brand name, Lovenox. It helps in preventing blood clots as it binds to a substance named antithrombin III. It helps in inhibiting clotting.

• Heparin

Heparin helps in making the effect of proteins in the blood weaker.

• Direct oral anticoagulants

It is a new group of anticoagulants. As per reports, these are as new as warfarin. The chances of this interacting with the other medications or even supplements are lesser.

• Compression socks or stockings

When you wear compression socks, it will put pressure on your feet as well as legs, which will further help in bringing down swelling and enhance the flow of blood. The compression stockings go up to the upper thighs. The pressure can be felt around the feet and lesser on the legs. Therefore, the blood and fluid will be pooled in the lower body. As a matter of fact, as per a review in 2018, 1681 people were observed before and after undergoing surgery. Only 9 out of 1681 who wore compression stockings developed clots on the day of surgery.

• Thrombolytics

These are medications that help in dissolving blood clots. These are put into the blood with a help of a catheter or through an IV. Doctors at present use thrombolytics which include:

• alteplase
• tenecteplase
• anistreplase
• streptokinase
• urokinase
• prourokinase
• reteplase

 

• Surgical thrombectomy

Thrombectomy is a surgical procedure in which a surgeon removes all the blood clots from the blood vessel. This procedure is mainly used for removing large clots, or the clots that can cause concerning symptoms.

• Vena cava filters

It is a device that prevents the blood clots from passing through the major vein which goes to the heart. The vein is called vena cava. These are mainly recommended for people who are at a higher risk of developing a condition called pulmonary embolism since they cannot opt for anticoagulant medications.

These can be a little expensive and you may need to be hospitalized. To avoid the high medical bills, you must opt for a health insurance policy. And to get the best health insurance, where else you should visit other than the IIFL website. Visiting the website will help you to find the best health insurance policy that suits your needs.