Blood Clots: How to Prevent Them from Happening to You

hi my name is dr. david korn and i'm here to teach you about blood clots and what you can do to prevent them from occurring here in the hospital blood clots consists of deep vein thrombosis DVT clots found in the legs and pulmonary embolism PE clots found in the lungs for the sake of this video we will refer to DVT as leg clots and PE as lung clots blood clots found in the legs can form in shallow or deep veins the good news is leg clots are preventable and treatable if discovered early blood clots in the lung are a clot that travels to the lung from another location usually the leg if the clot is small with treatment people can recover from a lung clot a clot in the lung is a serious life-threatening complication that can be fatal all patients in the hospital are at risk for developing blood clots however they can be prevented when patients and the health care team work together remember prevention is the key based on your risk factors your doctor will tell you what to do before and after surgery to prevent blood clots walking it is important to walk while you're in the hospital because when you walk your blood does not sit still long enough to clot so get up and walk in the hallway every two to three hours if you are able if not do the leg exercises provided by the staff while you're sitting in a chair Legg machines or sequential compression devices our mechanical devices placed on your lower legs they massage your legs to keep the blood flowing when you are not moving it is really important to wear them at all times when you are not up and walking medication there are several medications available to prevent you from developing a blood clot based on your risk factors or health condition your doctor will prescribe an appropriate treatment which consists of a shot under the skin or a pill if you actually develop a blood clot while in the hospital your medical team will put you on a continuous medication through the IV to help dissolve the blood clot risk factors for blood clots not moving for a long period of time severe illness cancer and cancer treatment smoking pregnancy being overweight heart disease recent trauma like broken bones or an auto accident recent surgery or a previous blood clot or a lung clot these are not all the risk factors for blood clots make sure you talk to your doctor about your personal and medical history also make sure to tell your doctor if you've ever had a blood clot in the past signs of a leg clot include tenderness swelling redness or pain in the leg most people with the leg clot have no signs or symptoms for this reason prevention is very important signs of a lung clot unexpected shortness of breath or difficulty breathing chest pain anxiety sweating coughing up blood the diagnosis of a blood clot requires special tests that can only be performed by your medical team if you experience any of these symptoms while you're in the hospital notify your medical team as soon as possible see your doctor or go to the nearest emergency room if you experience any of these signs or symptoms while at home by working together we can prevent these blood clots from occurring prevention is key and together we can

Channel: HenryFordTV

Views: 637,298

Rating: 4.815949 out of 5

Keywords: Henry Ford Health System, Michigan, Healthcare, Henry Ford Health, VTE Video, blood clots, how to prevent blood clots, blood clot prevention, pulmonary embolism, deep vein thrombosis

Id: 3oTLX3SpTJQ

Length: 4min 21sec (261 seconds)

Published: Thu Jan 28 2016