Reducing Blood Clots Guide

What causes blood clots?

Blood needs to clot to stop an injury or cut from bleeding. Sometimes however, a clot can form in the wrong place, usually in the deep veins of the leg. This is called a deep vein thrombosis or DVT.

Small parts of a blood clot can break off and travel in the blood stream into the lungs, this is known as a pulmonary embolism or PE. A very serious and life threatening condition.

Who gets blood clots?

Anyone can get a DVT or PE. Some people are more at risk due to the nature of the illness or operation that has brought them into hospital.

The following things can increase the risk of blood clots:

• Being unwell and less mobile than usual
• Having an operation
• Major injury such as a broken leg or hip
• Lower limb plaster cast
• A blood clotting disorder
• Dehydration
• Pregnancy or recently having given birth
• Contraceptive pill or hormone replacement therapy (HRT).

How can I reduce the risk of getting a blood clot?

There are certain things that you can do to reduce your risk of a blood clot:

• Drink six to eight cups of fluids every day (unless advised otherwise)
• Move around, stand up and walk around your bed or across the room every hour. If you are not able to walk around, regularly move your toes up and down, towards the floor and then up to the ceiling and rotating the ankle while you are in bed or sitting in the chair.

How can health care staff help?

Your doctor or nurse will assess you when you come into hospital. If you are at risk, there are other things they may do:

• They may give you some elastic stockings to wear. These improve your circulation and reduce your risk of clots
• They may fit you with calf or foot pumps which squeeze your leg intermittently to improve your blood flow
• They may give you a daily injection or tablet to thin your blood and stop it from clotting.

What signs and symptoms should I look out for?

Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) can cause:

• Swelling or pain in your leg
• Redness or warmth in your leg
• Enlarged or more noticeable veins under the surface of the skin on your legs.

Pulmonary embolism (PE) can cause:

• Shortness of breath
• Pain in your chest, back or ribs, especially if you take a deep breath
• Coughing up blood
• Dizziness or feeling faint. You should seek medical advice immediately if you develop any of these symptoms.

When you go home from hospital

You may still be at risk of getting a blood clot for up to three months after you leave hospital and are recovering at home. Keep drinking six to eight cups of fluids every day (unless you are told not to) and keep moving around ideally at least every hour.

You will be told if you need to continue injections and taught how to inject yourself. If you need to continue to wear stockings you will be shown how to fit them and taught how often to take them on and off for washing and skin care.

What happens if you do develop a blood clot?

Sometimes blood clots happen even if all possible steps are taken to prevent them. If you have developed one or more of the symptoms mentioned in this leaflet after you have been discharged from hospital, please phone your GP, NHS 111 service or in the event of an emergency telephone 999, to make sure that you are given the right treatment.

For further information

If you have any questions while you are in hospital, please ask your ward nurse, doctor or pharmacist. For more information about blood clots and how to prevent them, you can also access NHS Choices and Thrombosis UK websites. 

Our patients matter

Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust listens andresponds to patients and their carers to help improve the services we deliver.

If you have any comments, compliments or concerns you can speak with a member of staff or contact our Patient Advice and LiaisonService (PALS) and Complaints Team.

Telephone: 0151 471 2377Freephone: 0800 328 2941Email: palsandcomplaints@merseycare.nhs.uk