A blood clot is a blood clot that has changed from a liquid to a gel-like or semi-solid state. This process, known as clotting, is important in preventing excessive bleeding in the event of an injury. However, blood clots can also form improperly in blood vessels, which can lead to serious health problems.
When a blood clot forms inside a blood vessel and blocks blood flow, it is called a thrombus. When a part of the clot breaks off and travels through the bloodstream, it becomes an embolus. Depending on where this clot forms and where it travels, it can cause diseases such as deep vein thrombosis (DVT), pulmonary embolism, heart attack, or stroke.
Up to 900,000 Americans suffer from DVT or pulmonary embolism each year, and up to 100,000 die from it.One Knowing the signs and symptoms is important for getting prompt treatment, and taking preventive measures can help you avoid blood clots and the complications they can cause.
What factors increase the risk of blood clots?
Venous thromboembolism (VTE), which includes both DVT and pulmonary embolism, can affect anyone, but is more common in people who have recently been hospitalized or had surgery. In fact, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 50 percent of blood clots occur during or shortly after a hospitalization or surgery.2
Your risk also increases if you are immobile for long periods of time, such as when you are in bed for long periods or when you are traveling, and if you have had a blood clot before, you are more likely to develop a blood clot. In fact, three out of 10 people who have had a blood clot will have another one within 10 years.three Certain medical conditions, including diabetes, high blood pressure, and chronic inflammatory diseases, increase your risk of blood clots.4 Additional risk factors include:5
|
Pregnancy and postpartum period |
old age |
|
Family history of blood clots |
Overweight or obese |
|
Recent or recurrent cancer |
injury |
|
Estrogen-based medications, such as hormonal contraception or hormone replacement therapy |
smoking |
Common signs and symptoms of blood clots
Signs of a blood clot vary depending on its location in the body. DVT can cause sudden or gradual pain in one leg or arm, and may be accompanied by swelling, tenderness, redness, or discoloration of the skin. The area may also feel warm. Pain from DVT can feel like cramps, often starting in the calf, and may be worse when standing, walking, or bending the foot.
“DVT of the legs is the most common type of venous thrombosis and can cause serious illness, disability, and in some cases, death,” Dr. Luis Sanchez, chief of vascular surgery at the University of Washington, said in a news release. “Almost anyone can develop this serious and preventable disease, so it’s important to know the risk factors and warning signs if you or a loved one develops DVT.”6
Pulmonary embolism is a blockage of one of the pulmonary arteries in the lungs, often caused by DVT when part of the clot breaks off and travels to the lungs. Symptoms of pulmonary embolism are often similar to those of a heart attack, with the most common symptom being sudden shortness of breath.7
Chest pain that gets worse with breathing, coughing (including coughing up blood), irregular heartbeat, and dizziness may also occur. Some people also experience anxiety, sweating, heart palpitations, and low blood pressure, and may have symptoms of DVT.8
A blood clot in the brain can cause an ischemic stroke, which can lead to weakness in the face, arms and legs, difficulty speaking, vision problems, severe headaches and dizziness.9 Abdominal blood clots can also occur, but are less common than blood clots in the legs or lungs. Symptoms of abdominal blood clots can include severe abdominal pain, vomiting, and diarrhea.
Thrombotic hypothesis: Blood clots can cause heart disease
In an interview with Dr. Malcolm Kendrick, board-certified family physician and author of “The Clots Grow: The Enduring Mystery of Heart Disease,” he explains an alternative hypothesis for the cause of heart disease. In 1852, Vienna researcher Carl von Rokitansky developed what is known as the encrustation hypothesis of heart disease.
Today, this hypothesis has been renamed the thrombotic hypothesis. “Thrombo” means thrombosis, i.e. blood clots, and “genesis” means cause or beginning. Therefore, the thrombotic hypothesis is that thrombosis is the basic pathology that causes all heart diseases.
Simply put, when a clot forms in an artery wall (which can happen for a number of reasons), it usually gets covered and dissolved. However, problems arise when the clot is not completely removed and another clot forms in the same “vulnerable” area. This then becomes what is commonly referred to as an atherosclerotic plaque.
“Atherosclerotic plaques are basically accumulations of clots, repair, clots, repair, clots, repair.” Kendrick explains. “If the clotting process is too fast to repair itself, a progressively growing plaque can form, thickening and eventually narrowing the artery wall until the last clot on top of the existing plaque can cause a heart attack or stroke…
If you cut into the plug, it almost looks like a wooden ring. You can see that it has been coagulated, repaired, coagulated, repaired, coagulated, repaired, clockwork, repaired over the years.
It is widely accepted that a clot can form on an existing plaque and cause the plaque to grow larger. There are 10,000 papers that say this is true. What the mainstream does not accept is that a clot on a healthy artery wall can start the whole process.
So to some extent, what I'm trying to tell people is, well, we know that the clot is the end event. We know that the clot is what causes the plaque to grow. Why not accept that the clot is what started it in the first place? Then we go through the whole process, and that makes sense, because that's what you see.”
Blood clots don't grow continuously. If they did, you would die every time you had a clot. Instead, once a clot has formed, other processes intervene to prevent it from growing too large, which is why not all clots cause strokes or heart attacks. Once the clot has stabilized and broken down, the area is covered with endothelial progenitor cells, which are produced in the bone marrow, and float through the bloodstream.
When the progenitor cells find a damaged area, they attach to it along with other parts to form a new endothelium. The remaining clot is now 'inside' the artery wall itself. So it is basically the repair process that causes the plaque to build up inside the artery wall. Over time, if the damage outpaces the repair, the artery can narrow and blood flow can be reduced.
Blood clots have also been a hallmark feature in severe COVID-19 cases. In many of these cases, patients met criteria for Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation (DIC).10 It refers to a systemic disorder that affects blood clotting and can lead to organ dysfunction and death. Meanwhile, sepsis is one of the most common causes of DIC.11 It emphasizes that if the body's blood does not clot properly, serious consequences can occur.
Clot-dissolving enzymes may help break up clots
Fibrinolytics, sometimes called clot-busting drugs, can dissolve blood clots that can block veins or arteries. In general, clear arteries are beneficial for cardiovascular health, which is one reason why fibrinolytic enzymes such as lumbrokinase, nattokinase, and serrapeptase should be on your radar.
Lumbrokinase, serrapeptase, and nattokinase are proteolytic enzymes that act as natural anticoagulants by breaking down fibrin, the clotting substance that forms blood clots. Fibrin, a clotting substance that restricts blood flow, is found both in the bloodstream and in connective tissues such as muscles. Fibrin accumulation is also a cause of scar tissue.
Fibrinolytic enzymes inhibit platelet aggregation and clot formation, similar to aspirin. In animal studies, 500 milligrams per kilogram (mg/kg) of nattokinase completely prevented arterial blockages, and 30 mg/kg of aspirin was also shown to be effective in improving blood flow.12
Lumbrokinase is about 300 times more potent than serrapeptase and about 30 times more potent than nattokinase.13 If you are using fibrinolytic enzymes, this is the product I recommend the most. Lumbrokinase, derived from earthworms, is a very effective antithrombotic agent that reduces blood viscosity and platelet aggregation.14 At the same time, it also breaks down fibrin.
Fibrinolytic enzymes are ideal for targeted use. If you plan to use them daily, you should alternate them with other types of lumbrokinase, including nattokinase and serrapeptase, to avoid developing sensitivity or allergies. Also, they should be taken on an empty stomach, at least 1 hour before or 2 hours after a meal containing protein.
Additional tips to reduce your risk of blood clots
In addition to fibrinolytic enzymes, the following strategies may also help reduce your risk of blood clots:
• Avoid unnecessary use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), such as ibuprofen and naproxen. While it effectively suppresses inflammation, it can also block COX-2 and cause platelet aggregation, which means it activates the blood clotting system and makes clots more likely to form.
• Get plenty of sunlight. Sunlight exposure triggers nitric oxide (NO), which helps dilate blood vessels and lower blood pressure. NO also protects the endothelium and increases mitochondrial melatonin, improving cellular energy production.
• Avoid seed oils and processed foods. Seed oils are a major source of the omega-6 fat linoleic acid (LA). Excessive consumption has been linked to most chronic diseases, including high blood pressure, obesity, insulin resistance, and diabetes.
LA can lodge in cell membranes, causing oxidative stress and remaining there for up to 7 years. Oxidized linoleic acid metabolites (OXLAMs) cause major damage, including endothelial damage, which may increase clot formation.
• Address chronic stress It raises both blood sugar and blood pressure, promotes blood clotting, and impairs the repair system. Cortisol, the main stress hormone, reduces endothelial cell production.
• Quit smoking.
