What are blood thrombs and why do they appear

Many of us have heard about heart attacks and strokes more than once, but we do not always understand why they occur. In the vast majority of cases, the cause is a thrombus, which covers the vessel and prevents blood from reaching the tissues. Thrombosis is a pathological process in which the body is prone to the formation of blood clots in arteries or veins.

Various health problems provoke serious disorders in the blood coagulation system, which lead to the formation of blood clots – blood clots, which literally clog the vessel like plasticine and prevent blood from flowing to the tissues. This deprives the tissue of the limbs or internal organs of oxygen and nutrients, which leads to cell death. If it is an artery of the myocardium (heart muscle) or the brain, which cannot live long without oxygen, the cells will begin to die in just a few minutes, a section of necrosis is formed – this is a heart attack, stroke. The larger the artery, which was clogged by the thrombus, the more dangerous the situation. Is it possible to prevent thrombosis, what methods of prevention exist and how effective are omega-3 acids for this? We talked about this with a pathophysiologist, nutritionist, nutritionist Elena Paretskaya.

What is a thrombus and thrombosis

To understand why blood clots are formed, it is important to immediately explain why the body needs blood clots and what thrombosis is. Normally, the formation of blood clots is a protective reaction of the body aimed at preventing blood loss in case of any damage to the vascular wall, whether it is a capillary, artery or vein. Without this process, the first injury would have led to the fact that we would simply bleed.

To close the damage and give the vessel time to restore integrity, a thrombus forms at the site of the damage – a dense clot of plasma and shaped blood elements that occurs when the coagulation mechanism is started. It forms a kind of “patch” or “trafic jam” that closes the leak and prevents blood loss.

Why do thrombosis occur?

People who are far from medicine often simply do not know why blood crombs appear and how dangerous they are. If the body creates a situation where the risk of thrombosis increases, it is called hypercoagulation (tendency to thrombosis), which requires observation and correction. With such pathological processes, when blood clots are formed without prior injury, up to 20 million people around the world suffer, in some it leads to fatal injuries, in others – problems of internal organs or tissues.

Thromboses are formed in situations where blood flow slows down sharply, the tendency to clott increases or the walls of blood vessels are damaged. These can be the following situations:

prolonged bed rest, sedentary lifestyle, which causes blood to flow through the vessels more slowly;
injuries, vascular damage during operations (this activates blood clotting, and blood clots can form);
high level of “harmful” cholesterol, due to which the vessels are covered with a greasy film and plaques are formed. In the area of plaques that can be destroyed, blood clots most often begin to form.
In addition, several other reasons for the formation of blood clots are severe dehydration, serious infectious diseases, overweight and obesity, diabetes and autoimmune diseases. Smokers and alcohol abusers are more likely to face thrombosis.

Types of blood clots

Depending on the type of vessel that covers the thrombus, there are three variants:

Capillary, the safest type of blood clots. They are formed in the smallest vessels during injuries to prevent bleeding.
Venous, formed most often due to stagnation of blood in the area of large veins, mainly the lower limbs.
Arterial – formed inside the arteries, most often in the area of atherosclerotic plaques that damage the walls.
If a thrombus breaks away from the place where it was formed and floats through the vessels, it is called an embol. If it gets into vessels that are smaller in diameter than its size, the vessels become clogged. If it is a heart, a heart attack is possible, if the brain – a stroke, if the pulmonary arteries – TELA (thromboembolism of the pulmonary artery), that’s why doctors consider blood clombi as a potential source of danger.

It has been noticed that vein thrombosis is more common in women, especially prone to varicose veins of the lower extremities. Arterial thrombi are more common in men, especially after 40-45 years.

Who has thrombosis more often?

It is important to understand who and what causes blood crombs. Certain conditions and pathologies, chronic diseases increase the risk of thrombosis. It is these categories of people that are primarily shown prevention of thrombosis due to various drugs, bioadditives and lifestyle changes. All groups are divided into internal causes associated with the problems of the body itself, and external causes associated with various environmental influences.

Among the external ones, it is worth highlighting:

Increased blood pressure in hypertension or symptomatic hypertension.
Pregnancy period, the first weeks of the postpartum period.
Inflammatory vascular lesions – vasculitis.
Middle and advanced age (40-45 years and older).
Varicose veins and inflammatory processes in the veins (thrombophlebitis).
Heart failure with blood stasis in the small and large circle.
Tumor processes and their treatment (chemotherapy and radiation).
Severe kidney lesions and nephrotic syndrome.
Diabetes mellitus.
Autoimmune processes, especially those affecting the vascular walls.
Enterocolites.
Chronic lung pathologies.

All these processes require constant medical supervision and, if necessary, preventive measures to prevent thrombosis.

External causes that can lead to thrombosis can be excluded by the person himself or corrected by a doctor. These are:

Taking hormonal drugs.
Dehydration against the background of infections and intoxications.
Prolonged bed after injuries and operations.
Flights, long trips, where you need to sit without moving.
Infections provoking a cytokine storm.
Manipulations with vein damage (injections, catheter placement).
Taking some medications.

In situations where the risk of thrombosis is increased, it is important to be vigilant, preventing possible complications.

How to treat and prevent thrombosis

In the presence of blood clots, therapy for their liquefaction is necessary, and sometimes surgical removal to restore blood circulation. But ideally, it is important to prevent such situations. We will repeat the well-known phrase – the basis of thrombosis prevention is a healthy lifestyle. It is important that the blood that flows through our vessels is in perfect balance – not too thick (otherwise there will be a blood clot) and not very liquid (or there will be bleeding). Almost everyone knows the basic principles of healthy lifestyle – proper nutrition, more movement and less stress. However, routine recommendations are boring, and few people follow them pedantically.

Try to sign up for cooking courses and start cooking new dishes with vegetables and fruits, avoiding visiting fast food and cooking in a hurry from store semi-finished products. If you don’t have time to cook and need a snack, give preference to an ordinary salad with whole grain bread and boiled meat (bird). Satisying and healthy!

No smoking! The state is actively fighting smokers, vapers and people who use other smoking devices. It has been proven that nicotine and combustion products increase cholesterol, harm the lungs, heart, blood vessels and increase the tendency to thrombosis. Yes, it’s easier to say than to quit, but find motivation for yourself – multiply the price of a pack of cigarettes by the number of days in a month: the amount is not small. In a year of quitting smoking will accumulate decently – this is a trip on vacation!

Sedentary and laziness are our most basic problems. Coming home from work, the last thing we want is to go to the gym or run. But to prevent thrombosis of heart problems with blood vessels, you need at least 30 minutes of activity a day. Go up and down the stairs in the morning and evening – it’s already 5 minutes of activity (or even more). Walk 2-3 stops to work (it’s another 15 minutes there and back). Here are your 30 minutes of activity.

And you can also get a dog (and this is not only activity, but also the fight against stress), help elderly parents at the dacha, go for a walk with the child and play football, ride a bike (skates, skis, etc.).

Omega-3 in thrombosis prevention

There is evidence that omega 3 can help improve blood flow in case of blood clots. essential fatty acids of this class have a blood-thinning effect. But it is important to understand that taking supplements with these compounds is not a treatment, but only an addition to it. Therefore, it is important to consult a doctor – whether you should add foods and supplements with omega-3 to your diet to have a positive effect on the blood condition.

Since most of us have an omega 3 PUFA deficiency, doctors often recommend supplementing our diet with EPK and DHA capsules or fish oil.

Which omega to choose?

It is worth giving preference to complexes in which the content of EPA and DHA is maximum, since increased concentrations of omega have a blood-liqueng effect. Among our products, you can pay attention to the following products:

OMEGA 3 PREMIUM 1200 mg or 1000 mg

It is worth choosing when the need for unsaturated fatty acids is increased. The OMEGA 3 PREMIUM complex 1200 mg or 1000 mg contains 60% of omega-3 acids in the form of EGC and WPC. They are the most needed in the conditions of increased costs of the PZHK. If your diet is far from ideal and there are health problems, this complex will help you solve your problems.

COD LIVER OIL

This complex is suitable for those people who do not tolerate the taste and smell of fish oil in liquid form. Enclosed in a capsule, this valuable product is devoid of such disadvantages, while helping to replenish the reserves of fat-soluble vitamins and omega acids. Fish oil is a complex compound that simultaneously replenishes the reserves of vitamins A and D in parallel with replenishing the need for omega acids. This combination is useful for people who are prone to thrombosis, those who consume little fish and seafood, spend a lot of time in a sitting position.

OMEGA 3 VALUE 1000 mg

You should choose a complex if your diet does not cover the daily need for PUFA and you need to additionally take a preventive dose. Approximately 80% of adults have an omega-3 acid deficiency to one degree or another, which is not completely covered by nutrition. Therefore, this complex is perfect for daily preventive intake. It contains the most deficient EPK and DHA supplemented with vitamin E, which enhances the effect of PUFA.

OMEGA BALANCE 3 6 9

A balanced complex of basic omega acids, which are selected in the most convenient concentration for absorption, will support beauty and youth. The complex is supplemented with healthy oils, vitamin E and linolenic acid. A complex of three classes of omega acids in physiologically selected proportions is perfect for people who limit fat products in their diet due to a therapeutic diet or weight loss. In this combination, supplemented with vitamin E, they are absorbed as fully as possible.