The blood in your body is perpetually
pumping—flowing from organ to organ and giving you life. When blood clots to
stop internal or external bleeding, that’s good. However, sometime a dangerous
blood clot can develop that stops its flow to vital organs. Blood clots can be
a serious threat to your health and your life.
What Is a Blood Clot?
Almost all of us have had a blood clot: a
scab. When you get cut, blood coagulates at the surface of your skin and forms
a protective clot over your wound. This coagulation of blood stops your
bleeding, which is good! The same thing happens inside of your body if a blood
vessel starts bleeding.
A blood clot develops in four stages:
1.
When a blood
vessel is damaged, your body triggers platelets (small cells in your blood
responsible for clotting) to start sticking to your blood vessel walls and each
other around the damaged area. When enough stick to the area and one another,
they change shape to form a sort of plug to stop bleeding. While sticking to
one another, platelets are releasing chemicals that attract even more platelets
and prepare for the next step.
2.
Next, clotting
factors, which are made up of proteins in your blood, signal each other and
launch into a rapid chain reaction. The end results of the chain reaction are
long strands of fibrin in your blood that make a fibrous net. This net, much
like a fishing net, catches and traps even more platelets and cells around the
wounded portion of your blood vessel.
3.
Once the net has
captured enough cells and platelets, a signal is sent that tells the body that
enough has been sent and the clot is big enough and durable enough as it is.
This is an important chemical reaction as it prevents the clot from becoming
too big or spreading further.
4.
Similar to
dissolving stitches, the fibrin strands are broken down and eventually dissolve
as your wound heals. The collection of platelets and cells that just helped
heal your damaged blood vessel are released back into your bloodstream for use.
This entire process is triggered when
your flowing blood comes into contact with a specific substance in your skin or
blood vessel walls that is present when the skin or vessel is broken and
bleeding.
What Types of Blood Clots Are Bad?
We just went over what types of clots are
normal and safe. They’re your body’s natural way to stop bleeding and keep you
healthy. However, there are times blood clots occur and they’re actually
dangerous for you.
Sometimes a blood clot can form in the
blood vessels of the legs. These usually
occur from having recent surgery, sitting for prolonged time in a car or
airplane, or from medications such as birth control or estrogen
supplements. This is also more likely if
you smoke. These blood clots can
spontaneously form in the legs, causing swelling and pain. Most concerning, these clots can break off
and travel to your lungs, causing a pulmonary embolism which is
life-threatening.
Bad cholesterol is full of the substance
that is released when your blood vessel or skin is bleeding. When waxy
cholesterol plaques build up in your arteries, they could potentially break off
and lodge in your artery. Once the plaques break and the substance is released,
the clotting process begins.
This cholesterol plaque can cause
clotting and completely clog blood vessels, causing heart attacks or strokes.
These detrimental medical emergencies happen when the cholesterol plaque in
your heart or brain bursts without notice.
Aside from serious plaque breaking open
and kick-starting blood clots, they can also develop from improper blood flow.
When your blood doesn’t flow smoothly as it should, it could pool in your
vessels. When this happens, platelets are more likely to stick together and
create clotted barriers within your vessels—preventing smooth blood flow.
How Can I Prevent Blood Clots?
There are over-the-counter medicines and
prescribed blood thinners that either stop platelets from signaling one another
to collect or make it hard for your blood to clot. Some of these drugs include:
●
Aspirin
●
Plavix
(clopidogrel)
●
Xarelto
(rivaroxaban)
●
Pradaxa
(dabigatran)
While these drugs help prevent blood
clots if you’re at risk, tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) is a drug that
dissolves pre-existing clots. This drug works well as it dissolves fibrin—the
platelet-snagging net. Blood clotting problems can be caused by genetics or
even your diet and exercise regimen in the case of built-up cholesterol.
