Drinking plenty of water can help dissolve blood clots as it helps keep the blood thin and flowing smoothly. Drinking at least eight glasses of water a day is recommended to help prevent blood clots from forming.
Thrombolytic therapy is a treatment that dissolves blood clots. At Tampa General Hospital, our cardiovascular specialists often use this technique in emergencies when the threat of a heart attack, stroke or pulmonary embolism is imminent.
Anticoagulants, such as heparin, warfarin, dabigatran, apixaban, and rivaroxaban, are medications that thin the blood and help to dissolve blood clots.
It is important to start treatment right away for DVT. It takes about 3 to 6 months for a blood clot to go away. During this time, there are things you can do to relieve symptoms. Elevate your leg to reduce swelling.
Following a DVT, your leg may be swollen, tender, red, or hot to the touch. These symptoms should improve over time, and exercise often helps. Walking and exercise are safe to do, but be sure to listen to your body to avoid overexertion.
Elevate your legs above the level of your heart.
Elevate your legs when you sit or lie down, as often as you can. This will help decrease swelling and pain. Prop your legs on pillows or blankets to keep them elevated comfortably.
Blood clots can be removed with a procedure called thrombectomy. Thrombectomy is a technique that removes a blood clot from a blood vessel. Having a blood clot can be a serious condition, as it may block blood flow to critical tissues and organs in your body.
In deep vein thrombosis (DVT), the blood clot forms in one of the larger, deeper veins that run through the muscles. Deep vein thrombosis usually occurs in the lower leg. It often goes unnoticed and dissolves on its own.
In addition, when a clot in the deep veins is very extensive or does not dissolve, it can result in a chronic or long-lasting condition called post-thrombotic syndrome (PTS), which causes chronic swelling and pain, discoloration of the affected arm or leg, skin ulcers, and other long-term complications.
Stay Hydrated
Dehydration contributes to the development of sluggish blood flow and blood clots. NYU Langone doctors advise drinking 8 to 10 8-ounce glasses of water each day for optimal blood flow. It's especially important to do this when your mobility is limited for long periods, such as while traveling.
Natural Ways to Treat Blood Clots
Eat natural pineapple or take a nutritional supplement with bromelain. Increase your intake of other foods and drinks that may help dissolve blood clots such as garlic, kiwi, kale, spinach, red wine, and grape juice. Drink more water. Increase your exercise.
Massage stimulates blood circulation, therefore can dislodge a clot, even if the point of massage is elsewhere on the body.
To help reduce the pain and swelling that can occur with DVT, patients are often told to elevate their leg(s), use a heating pad, take walks and wear compression stockings.
Treatment includes medicines to ease pain and inflammation, break up clots and keep new clots from forming. Keeping the affected area raised and applying moist heat can also help.
Typically, your body will naturally dissolve the blood clot after the injury has healed. Sometimes, however, clots form on the inside of vessels without an obvious injury or do not dissolve naturally. These situations can be dangerous and require accurate diagnosis and appropriate treatment.
If you are currently being treated for DVT, do not massage your legs. Massage could cause the clot to break loose. If you are scheduled for surgery, ask your surgeon what you can do to help prevent blood clots after surgery. Stop smoking.
Does blood clot pain come and go? Unlike the pain from a charley horse that usually goes away after stretching or with rest, the pain from a blood clot does not go away and usually gets worse with time.
If not treated, a clot can break free and cause a pulmonary embolism—where the clot gets stuck in a blood vessel in the lung, causing severe shortness of breath and even sudden death.
throbbing or cramping pain, swelling, redness and warmth in a leg or arm. sudden breathlessness, sharp chest pain (may be worse when you breathe in) and a cough or coughing up blood.
It can help prevent a heart attack or clot-related stroke by interfering with how the blood clots. But the same properties that make aspirin work as a blood thinner to stop it from clotting may also cause unwanted side effects, including bleeding into the brain or stomach.
Antiplatelet Drugs
The most widely taken antiplatelet medication is aspirin. Doctors often recommend over-the-counter aspirin at varying doses for people at risk of blood clots, heart attacks and strokes.
DON'T stand or sit in one spot for a long time. DON'T wear clothing that restricts blood flow in your legs. DON'T smoke. DON'T participate in contact sports when taking blood thinners because you're at risk of bleeding from trauma.
Don't: Sit Too Long. Try not to stay seated for more than 2 hours at a time -- get up and walk around regularly. If you had a DVT in one of your legs, don't cross your legs when you sit down. That position can affect your circulation.
About 23% of people with PE will die within 3 months of diagnosis, just over 30% will die after 6 months, and there is a 37% mortality (death) rate at 1 year after being diagnosed.