Large Blood Clots
Tips On Treating Large Blood Clots
When coronary arteries incur large blood clots that lodge, the stage is set for a heart attack to occur. Treating and breaking up those clots is essential to avoid a life threatening situation.
When a patient is admitted into a hospital with acute heart attack issues, the cause may be large blood clots lodged within the coronary arteries. Medications that work quickly to dissolve these clots are administered at the attending doctor’s discretion, and may include thrombolytics. Thrombolytics are specifically used for to dissipate large blood clots, and work well when given within the first hour after the individual has suffered the heart attack. They can be used effectively within the first few hours. There are several varieties of the medication that may be prescribed.
Large blood clots can occur in any one of the many veins and arteries of the human body. In many cases, the body itself forms the clots purposefully. Some reasons for the coagulation are to prevent excessive blood loss and preventing foreign matter, such as dirt and bacteria, from entering the bloodstream. This is a natural, protective process in these cases. When the wound is healed and the clot is no longer needed, plasmin attaches itself to the clot, digests it and dissolves.
In other circumstances, blood thickens and coagulates within the veins and arteries, forming a clot. The clot can break off and begin to travel through the arterial highway of the body. When the clot breaks off and floats, it is called an embolus. Because large blood clots can travel to the lungs or the heart, the condition becomes extremely serious, and could cause death if not properly treated immediately.
To quickly dissolve large blood clots, thrombolytic drugs are usually administered in cases of heart attack and stroke. Since the drugs are acute blood thinners, this medication is only used within a hospital setting where constant medical observation by professionals is available. They are also only used in the most severe emergencies.
Large blood clots traveling through the blood stream can block the main arteries to the heart. This effectively blocks much needed oxygen to the heart muscles, resulting in a heart attack. Using the thrombolytic drugs to rapidly dissolve the clot, oxygen flow is restored to the heart, lessening the damage done to the muscle. For some people whose hearts sustain more damage, additional treatments may be necessary to help the heart, including surgery.
In cases of ischemic strokes, these large blood clots travel through major arteries to blood vessels in the brain. When blood flow is blocked to the brain, stroke is the result. Thrombolytic drugs used within the first three hours of stroke can minimize damage.
Heart attack and stroke, both caused by large blood clots, are medical emergencies. Only through the professional care used to break up and treat these conditions can life threatening situations be averted.