The IAA One Minute Blog

On December 30, 2012, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was admitted to a New York hospital for treatment for a blood clot. Clinton's blood clot stemmed from a concussion suffered earlier in December. Insurance Administrator of America is here to inform you on what blood clots are and how to prevent them.

What is a Blood Clot?

Blood has the seemingly impossible job of flowing smoothly and continuously for an entire lifetime, but quickly forms a clot when bleeding occurs. Blood clots  form when the blood coagulates from a liquid to a solid. Blood clots that form in response to an injury or cut are beneficial, stopping potentially dangerous bleeding. Blood achieves this through complex interactions between substances in the blood and blood vessel walls.

Blood clots can also form abnormally, causing a heart attack, stroke or other serious medical problems. If a clot forms inside a blood vessel and stays there, it is called a thrombosis. How serious a blood clot is depends on where it is and why it has formed.

Why Blood Clots Form

Blood clots can occur under many different circumstances. There are three major conditions in which a blood clot might occur:

1. Injury: Fractures, severe muscle injury and major surgery involving the abdomen, pelvis, hips or legs, can damage the inner lining of the vein causing it to form a blood clot. Inflammation and immune response can have the same effect.
2. Immobility: Being immobile can cause sluggish or slow blood flow.
3. Hypercoagulation: Certain conditions and medications can make the blood thicker or more likely to clot than normal.

Risk factors for blood clots are:

• High blood pressure
• Family history of blood clots
• Diabetes
• Pregnancy
• Stroke
• Recent surgery
• Prolonged sitting
• Circulation problems
• Heart problems

Symptoms and Solutions

Blood clots can form in many different ways and in many different places. Clinton's blood clot formed in the vein behind her ear, but she had another blood clot previously that formed behind her knee. That is why it is important to learn the general symptoms of a blood clot:

• Shortness of breath
• Pressure, fullness or a squeezing pain in the center of your chest lasting more than a few minutes
• Pain extending to your shoulder, arm, back, teeth or jaw
• Sudden weakness or numbness of your face, arm or leg
• Sudden difficulty speaking or understanding speech
• Sudden blurred, double or decreased vision
• Swelling, redness, numbness or pain in the arms or legs
• Intense burning or throbbing in your palms or soles
• Chronic headaches or dizziness

Of course, there are preventative measures that people can take:

• After you have had surgery or been on bed rest, the sooner you can get up and move, the better.
• Avoid sitting for prolonged periods of time.
• Change your lifestyle by losing weight, lowering high blood pressure, stop smoking, and exercising regularly.

What IAA has to Say

Blood clots can be helpful, but they can also be very dangerous. IAA wants you to take precautions in everyday life to help prevent something like this happening to you. IAA wants you to remember that while blood clots are serious, they are also treatable. Stay healthy!

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