Does a Large DVT Always Cause Symptoms?
Can you actually have a large blood clot (DVT) growing inside you yet not have any symptoms at all?
When a DVT causes symptoms, they typically are calf pain or cramping, swelling in the affected area and redness.
Perhaps you’ve read that half of DVT’s don’t present with symptoms.
But what about large DVT’s?
“A large DVT in a proximal vein (popliteal, femoral, iliac veins) most often will be symptomatic with at least edema and perhaps pain,” says Seyed-Mojtaba Gashti, MD, a board certified vascular surgeon with Broward Health Medical Center in Florida.
Popliteal = behind the knee
Femoral = main artery of thigh
Iliac = pelvic vein
“Some people can have duplicate femoropopliteal veins and even IVC [major vein that goes into the heart], and if they develop a large DVT in one of the two veins, they may not be symptomatic.
“Others may have developed significant collaterals in the past, perhaps from an old DVT, and again may not present with significant symptoms.”
Collaterals refer to development of additional veins to compensate for deficient veins.
“In one study, about 300 patients in the SICU, asymptomatic for DVT, were scanned and 7.5% had major proximal DVT.
“An orthopedic patient cohort was studied pre- and post-surgery. All were asymptomatic for DVT; 2.5% of patients pre-op had proximal DVT and over 16% post-op.”
Of course, it’s logical to wonder how many of these asymptomatic deep vein thromboses would have eventually began producing symptoms if they were not discovered, and therefore not treated.
Dr. Gashti continues, “So you can see that a significant number of even proximal DVTs can remain asymptomatic.
“The question is what is the significance of not treating these patients and should we study all of them?
“These are surgical patients; but to know the exact number of asymptomatic DVTs, a large number of people need to be randomly studied!
“The most common symptoms of large symptomatic DVTs in the acute setting are pain and swelling [edema].
“Discoloration may occur later as the result of postphlebitic syndrome.
“Interestingly in another study where patients who had symptomatic, confirmed DVT in one limb, 5% had proximal DVT in the asymptomatic limb.”
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- Abdominal surgery — recent
- Age over 60
- Airline travel — prolonged
- Bedrest — extended
- Birth control pills
- Cancer (active malignancy)
- Chemotherapy
- Chronic heart failure
- Chronic kidney disease
- Chronic venous insufficiency
- Dehydration
- Factor V Leiden mutation
- Family or personal history of DVT
- Fracture, major trauma
- Heart attack
- Hormone replacement therapy
- Joint replacement surgery: recent
- Obesity or moderate overweight
- Paraplegia or quadriplegia
- Pregnancy — current
- Sedentary lifestyle
- Sitting excessively most days
- Smoking, chewing tobacco
- Ultra-processed food diet and lastly, varicose veins
Dr. Gashti specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of vascular disease including abdominal and aortic aneurysm. He received his medical degree from University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine and has been in practice for more than 20 years.
Lorra Garrick has been covering medical, fitness and cybersecurity topics for many years, having written thousands of articles for print magazines and websites, including as a ghostwriter. She’s also a former ACE-certified personal trainer.
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Top image: vecteezy.com
Best Way to Prevent Blood Clots when on Birth Control
Blood clots are life-threatening and can result from using birth control pills. Here is the best way to help prevent these DVT’s from forming.
A woman who takes estrogen-based birth control needs to be aware of the signs of a blood clot in the leg (deep vein thrombosis).
Such a blood clot can break apart and in seconds travel to the lungs and block off inhaled oxygen, causing quick death.
Or, in less life-threatening cases, it will cause warning symptoms that can give the patient enough time to get to the emergency room for successful treatment.
“Birth control in and of itself renders a risk for the development of DVT,” says Paul Lucas, MD, surgeon with the Vascular Center and director of the Vascular Laboratory at Mercy Hospital in Baltimore.
“The estrogen component of the oral contraceptive pill is the causative risk. The progestin-only pills don’t convey that risk.”
Prevention of Blood Clots While on Birth Control
Dr. Lucas says, “The best prevention is to talk to your doctor and see if and what is the best option for you.”
Dr. Lucas urges women on birth control pills to stay active and exercise to help prevent the development of a deep vein thrombosis.
In addition, make sure the following are solidly in place to help prevent a deep vein thrombosis while on birth control:
-Maintain a healthy body weight. This is best accomplished, by far, by incorporating strength training into your life, along with cardio on days separate from the weight workouts. Avoid diet pills, “fat burner” pills and other gimmicks.
Freepik
-Keep well-hydrated. To make drinking water easier, add a few slices of lemon and a little Stevia as a natural sweetener.
-Don’t sit for extended periods of time; get up and move periodically.
Every TV commercial break, do some yoga, pacing, lunges, planks or march in place.
-Avoid garments that compress the pelvic area.
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- Abdominal surgery — recent
- Age over 60
- Airline travel — prolonged
- Bedrest — extended
- Birth control pills
- Cancer (active malignancy)
- Chemotherapy
- Chronic heart failure
- Chronic kidney disease
- Chronic venous insufficiency
- Dehydration
- Factor V Leiden mutation
- Family or personal history of DVT
- Fracture, major trauma
- Heart attack
- Hormone replacement therapy
- Joint replacement surgery: recent
- Obesity or moderate overweight
- Paraplegia or quadriplegia
- Pregnancy — current
- Sedentary lifestyle
- Sitting excessively most days
- Smoking, chewing tobacco
- Ultra-processed food diet and lastly, varicose veins
Dr. Lucas leads a team of vascular surgeons and technologists who specialize in the diagnosis and treatment of patients with diseased blood vessels.
Lorra Garrick has been covering medical, fitness and cybersecurity topics for many years, having written thousands of articles for print magazines and websites, including as a ghostwriter. She’s also a former ACE-certified personal trainer.
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Top image: Shutterstock/solar22
Can Chronic Heart Failure Be Missed by an MRA?
Is it possible for a magnetic resonance angiogram (MRA) to miss detecting chronic heart failure?
The MR angiogram is typically used to measure the function of one’s heart.
An MR angiogram is a type of MRI: magnetic resonance imaging. An MRA of the heart doesn’t just show what things look like; it shows how things function.
“An MRA can detect congestive [or chronic] heart failure by showing that the heart is either not relaxing properly and is stiff, which is diastolic CHF, or may show decreased pump function, which is systolic CHF,” explains Dr. Sameer Sayeed, a cardiologist at ColumbiaDoctors of Somers, NY.
The MRA procedure will not miss these issues. It takes about an hour and requires that the patient be injected with a dye so that the physician can visually read contrast in the image.
“The MRA may also show fluid in the lungs and pleural spaces which indicate acute heart failure,” says Dr. Sayeed.
The patient’s head is entirely inside the MRI “tube,” and some patients will have an anxiety attack while others might doze off between instructions from the MRI tech to periodically hold their breath.
Some Symptoms of Congestive or Chronic Heart Failure
– Chest pain
-Shortness of breath
-Swollen feet and/or legs
-General undue fatigue
-Rapid pulse
-Persistent cough with pink-tinged or white phlegm
-Swollen abdomen
-Appetite suppression
-Nausea
-Reduced alertness
-Sudden weight gain (fluid retention)
Stress MRA
Dr. Sayeed says that a stress MRA can show normal or abnormal cardiac function while the patient is at rest as well as with cardiac stress.
This highly sensitive test will not miss problems.
If the results of this test are normal, “then the warranty period is about 3-5 years depending on the number of risk factors and lifestyle,” says Dr. Sayeed.
Risk factors for congestive heart failure include high blood pressure, coronary heart disease, heart attack, diabetes, irregular heartbeats, untreated sleep apnea, drinking, viruses and congenital defects.
Dr. Sayeed performs echocardiograms and stress tests at the Midtown Manhattan and Westchester offices at Columbia Doctors. He is also trained in cardiac CT imaging.
Lorra Garrick has been covering medical, fitness and cybersecurity topics for many years, having written thousands of articles for print magazines and websites, including as a ghostwriter. She’s also a former ACE-certified personal trainer.
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Top image: Shutterstock/designer491
Source: mayoclinic.com/health/heart-failure/DS00061
Why the Pain All Over Your Body Gets Worse with Depression
Have you noticed that depression makes the pains in your body worse? This is especially true if your body often hurts all over.
How Long Can Your Zero Calcium Score Last Before It Goes Up?
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MUST You Have General Anesthesia for Herniated Disc Surgery?
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People at Gyms Wiping Down Barbells but not the Plates?
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Can Sore Neck Muscles Cause a Bad Headache?
Are you hoping that your unexplained headaches are caused by sore neck muscles rather than something more serious like a pinched nerve or brain tumor?
Headaches can be caused by a vast number of conditions including:
• Aneurysm
• Brain tumor: benign and malignant
• Migraine disorder
• Nasal polyp
• Pinched nerve in the neck
• Sinus infection: acute and chronic
• Tension from mental stress
But what about simply sore muscles in the neck?
A headache can be caused by sore neck muscles, says Dr. Moshe Lewis, MD, board certified in physical medicine and rehabilitation.
The headache in this case is actually pain that’s radiating from a problem originating in the neck musculature. These muscles can become overworked from exercise.
Or, they can become strained by spending too much time in one position, such as a sleep position that has the head turned one way while the body is turned the other way, or some other sleep position that can strain the cervical area.
Jutting the head forward while spending large amounts of time at the computer can also aggravate these muscles, leading to a headache.
Dr. Lewis says, “Some of the muscles and nerves in the neck travel to the back of the head, i.e., the greater occipital nerve.
“When muscles go into spasm and nerves become impinged, people can develop cervicogenic headaches.”
Cervicogenic means originating from the cervical area (neck).
These headaches also don’t necessarily occur at the moment of insult.
For example, perhaps you worked out hard at the gym, but only several hours later do you begin getting a headache.
Reducing Headaches from Neck Muscle Strain
A way to reduce these is to make sure you’re well-hydrated. Sip water during your workouts and after, whether you are thirsty or not.
Another tactic is to use proper posture at the computer.
This means don’t jut your head forward; instead move the computer screen closer or get used to viewing the screen from a little further away by not craning forward.
You should also do neck exercises such as rotations in both directions; and massage this area as well.
A self-massage may very well be enough to relieve a headache caused by sore neck muscles.
Dr. Lewis is the founder and CEO of Golden Gate Institute for Physical Medicine in CA, which provides education and clinical management of pain.
Lorra Garrick has been covering medical, fitness and cybersecurity topics for many years, having written thousands of articles for print magazines and websites, including as a ghostwriter. She’s also a former ACE-certified personal trainer.
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Top image: Shutterstock/FineShine
How Martial Arts Tournaments Can Help Kids Face Bullies
Here’s how martial arts tournaments can help your child stand up to bullies and also prevent being targeted by bullies.
As with any type of school, parents should do their homework to find the most suitable, professionally-run martial arts school, and then sign their child up.
This can be for any number of martial arts styles, such as karate, taekwondo and kenpo.
I’ve spent years in the martial arts and have competed in tournaments as an adult.
However, tournaments are for all ages, and I’ve taken classes that were for both kids and adults.
Thus, I know exactly what goes on at martial arts tournaments and how children and teens are instructed to prepare for them.
Bullying Isn’t Always About Physical Fights
Not all kids who are afraid to stand up to a bully fear getting beaten up. Bullying can take non-physical forms.
With that said, some kids attract the bullies or “mean girls” more than others.
It seems as though bullies have some kind of homing device that leads them straight to the victim.
Martial arts teaches confident vocal skills and posturing in kids who come across as being skittish or meek, lacking in confidence and easily bossed around.
Shutterstock, Ravil Sayfullin
Martial Arts Tournaments: the Bully Weapon
Martial arts tournaments include “forms” or “kata.” These are choreographed sequences of lower and upper body movements to fight off imaginary opponents.
Prior to starting the form, the participant must first face a panel of adult judges who are all sitting in a straight line.
Most may be wearing all black. All have black belts. They are all staring at the child — with a stern look.
This is wildly intimidating to the novice meek or “nerdy” child. It can even be intimidating to novice adults.
However…it doesn’t stay that way. Over time, children develop confident body language and speech skills.
Imagine what kind of self-confidence a 7-year-old must have, to be able to finally face the panel of stern-looking judges without a flinch, introduce himself with an authoritative voice, and in that same strong voice, identify the form he or she is about to perform — getting within several feet of the judges during certain points of the form.
Any child who can learn to pull this off without a quiver can face any school bully, including several bullies at once.
And that’s assuming such a situation even occurs. Remember, bullies are good at spotting the kids who easily quiver and tremor.
They will NOT be drawn to a child who can easily face that panel of judges and holler out an introduction while making stern eye contact back!
But if they mistake this child for an easily-controlled one, they’ll be in for a surprise when the tiger comes out of that sheepy looking child. And I don’t mean a karate kick to the bully’s head.
In fact, bullies are often afraid of a fistfight, which is why they pick on kids whom they think will never strike back in any shape, way or form.
Even the most timid child or teen can learn how to face a panel of judges and assertively announce their position.
This is rehearsed over and over during martial arts classes. Over and over. It becomes second nature. Practice makes perfect.
As a child — who’s already being bullied — develops this skill, the bullies will pick up that something is changing in their victim. They’ll start backing off.
