Healthy Living and Fitness

Illness Care: Deep Vein Thrombosis

Description of Deep-Vein Thrombosis

Deep-vein thrombosis(DVT) occurs when a blood clot forms in a deep vein in the leg or pelvis. The blood clot can either partially or completely block the flow of blood in the vein. A blood clot in the leg can be dangerous if it breaks off and travels through the deep veins back to the heart, and eventually be pumped by the heart into the arteries of the lung. When this happens, the condition is called pulmonary embolism. The blood clot is called an embolus (for which the plural is emboli), and the process of breaking off and travelling to the lungs is called embolism.

 

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