Blood Clots
What are blood clots?
A blood clot is when the blood changes from a liquid to a solid, also known as coagulation, at the site of an injury to help stop bleeding. Blood clots can become dangerous when they form in places where they are not supposed to and can partly or completely block blood flow in a blood vessel.
In patients with cancer, blood clots more often form in the veins, known as a venous thromboembolism (VTE), but they can also potentially form in the arteries as well. The most common type of VTE in patients with cancer is a deep vein thrombosis (DVT), which is a clot usually found in a deep vein in the leg or pelvis. A DVT can sometimes lead to a pulmonary embolism (PE), which occurs when part of a clot breaks off and travels to the lungs, which can be life-threatening.
What do blood clots look like?
A DVT may cause local swelling, pain, tenderness, warmth, cramping, redness, or discoloration at the site of the clot. Some clots cause only mild symptoms, and some cause no symptoms at all.
If a clot travels to the lungs and causes a PE, symptoms may include sudden shortness of breath, chest pain, coughing, coughing up blood, a fast heartbeat, or feeling lightheaded.
Who gets blood clots?
Blood clots are more likely when blood flow slows down, when blood vessels are damaged, and/or when the blood is more likely to clot than normal. Factors like surgery, long periods of sitting or bed rest, illness, and inflammation can all increase the risk.
Patients with cancer have a higher risk of blood clots than the general population. Cancer itself can make the blood more likely to clot and treatments such as surgery and chemotherapy can increase the risk as well. Other common factors such as extended hospital stays, central venous catheters, and reduced activity can also add to this risk.
How are blood clots prevented?
General recommendations to help prevent blood clots include moving around as much as is safe, avoiding long periods of immobility, and following the care team’s instructions after surgery or during hospitalization. Depending on risk, anticoagulant medications, also referred to as “blood thinners”, may be used to help prevent clots from forming. Some of these medications include:
- Heparin
- Low molecular weight heparin
- Enoxaparin (Lovenox®)
- Dalteparin (Fragmin®)
- Fondaparinux (Arixtra®)
- Direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs)
- Rivaroxaban (Xarelto®)
- Apixaban (Eliquis®)
How are blood clots treated?
Unless contraindicated, blood clots are typically treated with anticoagulants. These medicines do not immediately dissolve the clot, but they help prevent it from getting larger and help prevent new clots from forming while the body slowly breaks down the existing clot. In very severe cases, other treatments such as clot-dissolving medications or procedures to remove the clot may be used, although that is not needed for most patients. Anticoagulants that are typically used to treat blood clots include:
- Heparin
- Warfarin (Coumadin®)
- Low molecular weight heparin
- Enoxaparin (Lovenox®)
- Dalteparin (Fragmin®)
- Fondaparinux (Arixtra®)
- Direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs)
- Dabigatran etexilate (Pradaxa®)
- Rivaroxaban (Xarelto®)
- Apixaban (Eliquis®)
- Edoxaban (Savaysa®)
NOTE: Treatment Options listed below are not all-inclusive. Other treatments may be available. ChemoExperts provides drug information and does not recommend any one treatment over another. Only your Doctor can choose which therapy is appropriate for you.
Treatment Options
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