I have seen this subject come up recently and decided to run a search. (I've been having a bit of leg pain myself). Anyway, here is what I learned.
What Are The Signs And Symptoms?
Only 40 to 50 percent of people with DVT have obvious signs and symptoms of DVT, and the condition often goes unrecognized.
When they do occur, signs and symptoms vary depending on the severity of the condition.
DVT may cause pain and swelling in one or both legs, or less commonly, in an arm. There may also be tenderness in the affected area, and an increase in skin temperature (compared to the unaffected limb).
Signs and symptoms of deep vein thrombosis include:
* Pain in the leg
* Tenderness in the calf (this is one of the most important signs)
* Leg tenderness
* Swelling of the leg
* Increased warmth of the leg
* Redness in the leg
* Bluish skin discoloration
* Discomfort when the foot is pulled upward
With DVT high up in the leg (ileofemoral vein), superficial veins may become visible over the thigh and hip areas as well as over the lower abdomen.
Nice To Know:
Swelling in one leg following childbirth was, for centuries, called "milk leg," because the swelling was believed to be caused by milk retained by mothers who did not nurse. Others thought it was due to infection or the blockage of lymph nodes. Eventually, investigations performed in the early part of the 1800s showed that the swelling was due to thrombosis in deep veins of the thigh. Today, this type of deep vein thrombosis following pregnancy, in which the painfully swollen leg appears pale in color, is called phlegmasia alba dolens.
Conditions That May Cause Similar Symptoms
There are a number of different conditions that can cause signs and symptoms similar to deep vein thrombosis. These include:
* Muscle aches and tears
* Superficial thrombophlebitis - a blood clot that forms in an inflamed part of a vein near the surface of the body (i.e., not a deep vein)
* Varicose veins - blood vessels that are abnormally swollen and twisted
* Blood clots in arteries
* Arthritis
* Cellulitis - an infection in tissue under the skin
* Bone fracture
* Lymphedema - swelling in the hands and feet caused by excess fluid retention
How Is It Diagnosed?
The diagnosis of deep vein thrombosis is suspected on the basis of signs and symptoms alone. An examination may reveal a red, swollen, tender area of the leg, particularly the calf. A sharp pain when the foot is flexed upward sometimes suggests that the individual has DVT.
Need To Know:
The importance of correct diagnosis
If a diagnosis of DVT is strongly suspected, physicians may start treatment with anticoagulant (blood-thinning) drugs before tests have confirmed the diagnosis. These drugs, however, can lead to internal bleeding. Therefore, physicians are reluctant to start treatment until tests have definitively diagnosed the condition.
For a definitive diagnosis of DVT, special imaging techniques are required.
* Ultrasound, a diagnostic technique which uses harmless high frequency sound waves to measure blood flow in the deep veins.
In this procedure, a detector is passed over the skin of the affected limb. Sound waves painlessly penetrate the skin, bounce back from the structures below, and are converted to electrical impulses. After processing, these impulses form an image of the tissues inside the leg on a monitor. Blood flowing through an obstructed vein creates a different image than blood flowing through a fully open vein.
* Venography. Until recent advances in ultrasound made the procedure highly reliable, the best method for diagnosing deep vein thrombosis was venography, which is still used. It remains the "gold standard" for definitive diagnosis.
Venography uses X-ray technology to measure blood flow in deep veins. A special harmless dye is injected into a vein in the foot. This substance then circulates throughout the veins in the leg and can be easily seen on an X-ray. If DVT is present, blockages or partial blockages in the vein are immediately seen; the dye is seen surrounding any clot that exists in the vein.
* Blood test coagulability (clotting tendency). Various tests are used to assess the activity of the blood clotting factors. The time taken for the person's blood to clot is measured and compared with the time taken for normal blood to clot under the same conditions.
* Other tests. Rarely, physicians will use computerized tomography scanner or CT scan (a machine that passes X-rays through the body from various angles) to diagnose DVT in the abdomen or pelvic region. In some instances, they will use magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) . Both techniques provide high quality cross-sectional images of organs and structures within the body.
* If a pulmonary embolism is suspected, specialized tests will be immediately ordered. These include a lung perfusion scan or a pulmonary arteriogram, in which dye is injected into an artery and its course followed through the lungs. Any obstruction due to a clot will be seen. A perfusion scan determines if there is an area of the lung not being properly ventilated. Specialized blood tests and an EKG will also be done.
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'm not going to post all of the info. It's too much.
For those of you interested in reading more on the subject here is the web address.
http://www.ehealthmd.com/library/dvt/DVT_diagnosis.html
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Signs And Symptoms of DVT AKA: Clot
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