What are causes of blood clots?
Question posted by Lylepew on 7 Aug 2023
Last updated on 7 August 2023
Answers
Blood clots are made when substances in the blood thicken and form a semisolid mass. This process may be triggered by an injury. Sometimes it occurs inside blood vessels that don't have an obvious injury.
Once these clots form, they can travel to other parts of the body where they can cause harm. There are a variety of factors and conditions that can cause troublesome blood clots, and there are some serious conditions that are associated with blood clots. These include:
Antiphospholipid syndrome
Arteriosclerosis / atherosclerosis
Cancer
Certain medications, such as oral contraceptives and hormone therapy drugs
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19-19-19-19)
Deep vein thrombosis (DVT)
Factor V Leiden
Family history of blood clots
Heart arrhythmia (heart rhythm problems)
Heart attack
Heart failure
Obesity
Peripheral artery disease (PAD)
Polycythemia vera
Pregnancy
Prolonged sitting or bed rest
Pulmonary embolism — a blood clot in an artery in the lung.
Smoking
Stroke
Surgery
Source: Mayo Clinic
What conditions or disorders involve blood clots?
Blood clot issues are associated with many different kinds of conditions. You may develop a blood clot because you cut yourself and your body is working to stop your bleeding. There are conditions that focus on blood clots, such as bleeding disorders or blood clotting issues. You may also develop conditions that increase your risk of developing blood clots.
Bleeding disorders
If you have a bleeding disorder, it means your blood doesn’t clot as it should and you’re at risk of bleeding uncontrollably if you’re injured. Bleeding disorders include:
Von Willebrand disease: Most people who have von Willebrand disease inherited a mutated gene from one of their biological parents. But von Willebrand disease is also a complication of cancer, autoimmune disorders and heart and blood vessel diseases.
Thrombocytopenia: You may develop thrombocytopenia if you have low platelet counts.
Inherited hemophilia: This condition happens because your body doesn’t make enough clotting proteins to help your blood form clots.
Blood clotting disorders
A blood clotting disorder (hypercoagulable state) is a condition that causes your body to make more blood clots than normal. People may inherit disorders that increase the risk of blood clots or develop disorders during their lifetime. Common blood clotting disorders include:
Factor V Leiden: This inherited disorder is the most common blood clotting disorder. It slightly increases your risk of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) or pulmonary embolism.
Prothrombin Gene Mutation: Like Factor V Leiden, this inherited condition slightly increases your risk of deep vein thrombosis or pulmonary embolism.
Antiphospholipid Syndrome: This autoimmune disorder increases blood clot risk.
What other factors increase blood clot risk?
Many factors may increase blood clot risk. For example, people with severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19-19) have an increased risk. Other factors include:
Age. People age 65 and older have increased blood clot risk.
Pregnancy.
Having obesity.
Having cancer.
Taking birth control pills or having hormone therapy.
Smoking.
Not being able to move around.
Source: Cleveland Clinic
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