Prevent blood clots after surgery by doing this

After surgery, the body usually has a high risk of developing blood clots. Even though the blood clot that occurs is a quite dangerous condition, especially after surgery. Why did this happen and how to solve it?

Causes blood to clot after surgery

After undergoing surgery, a person is usually more prone to experiencing blood clots than other days.

This is because during surgery, especially in procedures that take up to a dozen hours, the body does not move actively. As a result, the blood becomes more prone to clot

Deep vein thrombosis is the type of blood clot that most often attacks. This condition usually appears in veins such as in the legs, arms, or pelvis.

Especially after surgery, a person tends to rest on the bed for a long time. Either because you are not unconscious, it is very painful to move, or you cannot walk.

This further increases the risk of blood clots after surgery.

Operations that require cutting an artery or vein also pose the risk of blood clots afterward. This is because the body is working hard to stop bleeding by forming clots.

Not only, it was reported from Verywell Health, smokers, people with a history of blood clots, obesity, pregnancy, cancer, dehydration, and genetics are also often the triggers.

Symptoms of blood clots after surgery

Usually, people who experience blood clots will experience a variety of different symptoms. Symptoms that appear usually depend on the location of the affected area, here are the details:

Heart

If after surgery there is blood clot in the heart, the main symptom that will appear is chest pain. In addition, you will also feel numbness in your arms, shortness of breath, sweating, nausea, and dizziness.

Brain

When blood clots in the brain, a person will experience various symptoms of muscle weakness in certain parts of the body such as the face, arms, or legs.

In addition, a person will also experience difficulty speaking, vision problems, sudden headaches, and dizziness.

Arms or legs

If the blood clot occurs in your arm or leg, you will experience leg pain. In addition, this condition usually causes swelling, pain when pressed, and a warm sensation in the legs.

Lungs

When blood clots occur in the lungs, you will experience various conditions such as a racing heart, rapid breathing, or even shortness of breath.

In addition, you will also experience fever, coughing up blood and sweating.

Prevent blood clots after surgery

To prevent blood from clotting after surgery, here are things you can do:

1. Stop smoking

Smoking habits can increase the risk of blood clots. Therefore, you are usually asked to quit smoking.

The reason is, smoking can damage the lining of the blood vessels which can cause blood clots to form easily.

2. Actively moving

Preventing blood clots after surgery can be done by actively moving. Moving makes the muscles continue to pump blood to the heart so it doesn't clot at one point.

Therefore, don't be lazy to move and get out of bed once it is allowed for your long-term health.

3. Take blood retailers

Blood thinners such as warfarin (Coumadin) or heparin will usually be prescribed to prevent blood clots from forming after surgery.

In addition, these drugs are also prescribed to help treat blood clots that have already appeared so that they do not get bigger and expand.

Other ways than medication, doctors usually recommend that you raise your arm or leg to help improve circulation. Compression stockings are also usually recommended to prevent leg swelling.

However, if you are at high risk for blood clots, your doctor will continue to monitor you with a serial duplex ultrasound scan.

In addition, a clot-dissolving drug, thrombolytic, will also be given if you are at risk for pulmonary embolism or deep vein thrombosis (DVT). Later, these drugs will be injected into your bloodstream.

Whatever the doctor recommends postoperatively, never ignore it and try to do it for your health.