Blood clots are healthy and lifesaving when they stop bleeding.

However, when blood clots form inside your body where they aren’t needed, they can cause a heart attack, stroke, or other serious medical problems.

According to experts, blood clots are the leading cause of sudden death amongst seemingly healthy people, cancer patients, and hospitalised patients.

The process of blood clotting begins whenever flowing blood comes into contact with specific substances in your skin or in blood vessel walls.

When they touch, it usually means the skin or blood vessel wall is broken.

“The biggest danger of having a clot formed in the veins is that the clot could break off and travel to your lungs, causing a blockage known as a pulmonary embolism or PE, which is fatal,” says Dr. Kennedy Ouma, a wound specialist.

Dr. Ouma adds that open injuries are the most common cause of blood clots. “An open injury can cause blood to dislodge, fragment, and be transported anywhere in the body.”

Travelling for more than four hours, whether by air, plane or train, can also put you at risk for developing a blood clot.

 “Move around and stretch your legs frequently when on long trips. If you cannot leave your seat, then extend your legs and flex your muscles. This will encourage blood flow.”

A blood clot can be induced through a high dosage of blood clotting medication for clotting disorders.

Blood clots can also be formed in the body during and after pregnancy, when you take birth control pills or estrogen hormones, or when you use an IV catheter for a long time.

A blood clot in the veins of the leg, arm, groin, or behind the knee could be a condition called deep vein thrombosis (DVT).

“DVT happens when you have a medical problem that impacts how the blood clots. A clot in this area can also form if you sit or lie down for too long, like when you’re on bed rest or taking a long-distance trip,” explains Dr. Ouma.

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Venous thromboembolism happens in the veins, most often in the legs. A pulmonary embolism happens when a blood clot travels to your lungs and blocks an artery.

Coronary thrombosis is when a blood clot blocks an artery in your heart, causing a disruption and stoppage of blood flow. This could lead to a heart attack.

When the heart or lungs do not receive adequate blood, the heart stops working.

“Only when the clots are too big is when you cannot be able to breathe, since there will be insufficient or a lack of proper uptake of oxygen,” says Dr. Ouma.

It’s possible to have a blood clot without symptoms. However, people often have some warning signs.

Symptoms that could be a sign you have a blood clot include: Skin tenderness, redness, and warmth in an area of the body, swelling (usually just in one leg), shortness of breath, chest pain and dizziness.

According to Dr. Ouma, “Blood clots in the body can be detected through angiography and venography; imaging procedures that use special dyes to help ‘light up’ the inside of the body.

The dyes are injected into the blood vessel that a provider thinks has a clot in it. Then, imaging machines are used to take pictures of the vessel.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 1 in 2 people don’t experience any symptoms when they have a deep venous Thrombosis. DVT often develops silently and can remain undiagnosed for an extended period.

“Many people have symptoms so mild that they fail to generate concern. The condition’s stealthy nature makes understanding the risks, symptoms, and preventive measures crucial to ensure timely intervention and treatment.” Says Dr. Ouma.

The treatment options for blood clots depend on a person’s overall health and the location of the blood clot.

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In most cases, a doctor will prescribe anticoagulant medications, which people often refer to as blood thinners.

These medications reduce the body’s ability to form new clots, while also preventing existing clots from getting bigger. Surgical interventions can also be done to evacuate large blood clots.

Currently, no data exist on its prevalence of blood clots in Kenya. Many people have limited information on the condition, with some patients getting misdiagnosed with cellulitis of the arm or leg- a bacterial skin infection characterized by swollen, red, painful skin.