Blood Clots May Travel to Lungs

Q:  Over the last two weeks, I’ve become very short of breath and can’t tolerate even the most basic activities. I thought that I had a cold of some kind and waited a few days before seeing the doctor. When I did, she ordered a chest x-ray that did not show pneumonia, but showed that my heart was enlarged.

That information was given to my regular doctor who then found that I had a large blood clot in my lung and another in my left leg. I had been having left leg pain, but just thought that it was my arthritis and was waiting for it to go away. How did all of this happen and could it have been prevented?

A:  What you have in your lung is called a pulmonary embolism (PE) and in your leg a deep venous thrombosis (DVT). It is likely that the DVT came first and that as that clot enlarged, a portion of it broke off and was transported by the flow of blood to your lungs, where it became lodged. You became short of breath because some of the blood being pumped to your lungs was unable to be oxygenated, a little bit like suddenly being transported to high altitudes. The pain in your leg was due to the formation of that initial clot.

Most of the time, inactivity in combination with older, enlarged, irregular veins set the stage for clot formation in the legs. Under those conditions, blood that is normally moving will pool and be at a greater risk for clotting. Other causes can include clotting disorders and on rare occasions, the presence of cancer.

Prevention is best addressed through regular activities such as walking. If you’re in a car, stop every 2 hours and get out to stretch your legs. If traveling on an airplane, move up and down the aisles at about the same interval. Unless you have been told by your doctor not to, taking a baby aspirin daily will reduce the tendency of blood to clot and add to your preventive strategies.

For more information on current diagnostic techniques, see our article CT Scans Detect Blood Clots in the Lungs and Legs.

"Your Health" provides easy-to-understand information about common health conditions.