Deep Vein Thrombosis Dictionary

anticoagulants: Decrease your blood's ability to clot. They are also known as blood thinners.

antigens: Stimulate clot formation into the blood stream.

aspirin: Can be used as an anti-coagulant.

coagulation: Encouraged by the presence of tissue debris, collagen or fats in the veins. Chemical substances (antigens) that stimulate clot formation into the blood stream.

cuff-impedence plethysmography: Uses blood pressure checks at different places in the leg to identify possible blockages.

deep-vein thrombosis (also known as deep-venous thrombosis or DVT, and colloquially as economy class syndrome): The formation of a blood clot ("thrombus") in a deep vein. Commonly affects the leg veins, such as the femoral vein or the popliteal vein or the deep veins of the pelvis. Occasionally the veins of the arm are affected (known as paget-schrötter disease).

edema: An observable swelling from fluid accumulation in certain body tissues.

embolus: A clot that breaks loose. The embolus travels toward the heart and passes through the right atrium and ventricle and into one of the pulmonary arteries, which carry blood to the lungs. The clot may lodge in an artery in a lung and block blood flow, resulting in pulmonary embolism.