How Do You Diagnose Deep Venous Thrombosis?
Deep venous thrombosis (DVT) means the presence and formation of a blood clot in the deeper veins of the legs, thighs, or pelvis. This obstructs the blood flow through the veins, resulting in swelling and pain. Sometimes a piece of the blood clot breaks off and travels all the way in to the lungs (pulmonary embolism). Some conditions such as smoking, pregnancy, obesity, old age, cancers, use of birth control pills and hormone replacement therapy increase a person’s risk of developing such a blood clot. To determine if you have DVT follow these steps. Look for swelling, pain, warmth and redness in the leg. Check Blood D-dimer levels. D-dimer is a substance in the blood that is often increased in people with venous thromboembolism or pulmonary embolism. Perform a compression ultrasonography of the deep veins of leg, thighs and pelvis. This uses sound waves to locate the blood clots. Order a contrast venography. This is a way to “see” the veins with x-ray. Order magnetic resonance imaging
