Blood clots cause anywhere from 100,000 to 300,000 deaths each year. When you have blood clots, they can cause serious problems, like heart attacks, strokes, and more. However, many people do not know the signs of blood clots or the common blood clot causes.
Do you want to learn more about the different kinds of blood clots, what are blood clots, blood clot prevention, and more? Keep reading these common causes of blood clots for more information.
Prolonged Sitting or Bed Rest
One common cause of blood clots is inactivity. If you are on bed rest or are sitting for prolonged periods of time, you are more likely to develop blood clots. Even things like traveling for several hours can cause blood clots if you do not take enough breaks.
When you are confined for long periods of time, your immobility can cause blood clots in deep veins. Make sure you always get up and walk around after sitting for a few hours and try to move around as soon as possible after being on bed rest.
Pregnancy
Another common cause of blood clots is pregnancy. This is a biological response that was meant to protect women in labor. To prevent too much blood loss during labor, your blood during pregnancy is much more likely to clot.
This change comes mainly from changes to your hormones when you are pregnant. However, there is also increased pressure on your veins when you are pregnant, meaning that your blood flow is restricted. This is also a reason why pregnant women suffer from blood clots.
Medication
Some types of medication can also increase your odds of developing blood clots. In fact, even common pain killers like Ibuprofen may increase your risk of developing blood clots. These medications are known as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs
If you are at risk for blood clots, you may be able to be prescribed blood thinners to help prevent your blood from clotting too easily. Make sure you always consult your doctor about your medication if you have a family history of blood clots or if you have gotten blood clots in the past.
Serious Injury or Trauma
When you get seriously injured or are in a traumatic event, you may be at risk of developing a blood clot. This can happen when your blood vessels are damaged, whether this is from a cut or an impact injury.
If blood leaks out of your blood vessel, it can thicken and organize into a clump, or a blood clot.
Some injuries may also make it hard for your to move. If you are not able to find ways to circulate your blood, it may result in a blood clot.
Surgery
Getting surgery can also greatly increase your risk of getting blood clots. One of the main reasons this risk increases is because of your inactivity during your procedure and after your surgery.
Because you are unconscious for several hours during some surgeries and may need to be on bed rest, this inactivity can cause blood to collect in your lower body.
Blood clots can also form if your veins get damaged during your operation. To help improve your circulation after you get surgery, you can elevate your legs while you are in the hospital. This is an easy way to reduce your risk of developing blood clots.
If you are looking for ways to prevent blood clots after getting knee surgery or any other surgery, check out this article for tips to prevent blood clots.
Age
While deep vein thrombosis and other blood clotting diseases can happen to people of any age, your risk of developing blood clots will typically increase with age.
Typically, this risk will begin increasing at the age of 40 and will increase until you are 60 or 70.
One reason this risk increases with age is that older people are more likely to have long hospital stays, bed rest, and other traumatic events that can increase their risk of blood clots.
However, they also have increases in coagulation proteins as they age, making it easier for blood clots to develop.
Family History
Finally, people who have a family history of blood clotting disorders have a much higher risk of developing similar conditions or getting a blood clot.
For people who have a family history of blood clots, these clots will typically manifest before you are 45 years old. This also means that these clots do not always have another cause, like the causes listed above.
If you are prone to blood clots, it is best to do anything you can to prevent clots from forming. You can try wearing loose-fitting clothing and compression socks, especially as you are traveling.
You can also meet with a doctor to discuss medications and exercises that you can utilize to prevent blood clots.
Learn More About the Common Causes of Blood Clots Today
There are many reasons that you may develop blood clots, whether these come from your genetics, a serious injury or surgery, or any other lifestyle factors. When you learn more about the common causes of blood clots, it is easier to practice blood clot prevention or get the blood clot treatment that you need.
Do you want to learn more about the kinds of blood clots and how you can prevent them? Our team can help! Check out the other articles on our website to learn more about health and lifestyle changes that you can make to prevent blood clots!