Health Tip: Understanding Blood Clots

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Blood clotting is the body’s way of preventing excessive bleeding when a blood vessel is injured.

Typically, the body will dissolve the clot after the injury has healed,
the American Society of Hematology says.

But occasionally, a clot forms despite no obvious injury to a vessel, or the clot doesn’t dissolve on its own. This can pose the dangerous possibility of limiting oxygenated blood to tissues and organs such as the heart or lungs.

Or a clot may impede the flow of deoxygenated blood back to the heart.

The society says factors that can increase the risk of developing a blood clot include:

• Obesity.
• Pregnancy.
• Prolonged inactivity.
• Smoking
• Some oral contraceptives.
• Certain cancers.
• Surgery.
• Advancing age.
• Family history of blood clots.
• Diabetes.
• High blood pressure.
• High cholesterol.

Source: HealthDay

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