DEEP VEIN THROMBOSIS

Blood clots can appear rapidly in veins where blood flow is slow and laboured, most common in veins deep in leg muscle. During these cases, such as when a person’s legs remain unmoved for long periods, an excess of natural clotting factors in the bloodstream can overstimulate the production of a blood clot. In healthy blood, clots form to prevent bleeding, but during deep vein thrombosis the formed clot can grow to a substantial size – large enough to obstruct blood flow. This can cause pain, swelling and a change in colour of the leg. However, the clot can cause more damage if it travels further through the vascular network into the vessels supplying the lungs, resulting in a pulmonary embolism that can prove fatal.

Deep vein thrombosis can lead to a pulmonary embolism, which obstructs blood flow in the lungs