Blood Clot Risks Every Woman Must Know

For Valentine’s Day, if you’re a woman you may be busy making plans and purchasing flowers, chocolates, and greeting cards for loved ones, ensuring that everyone else is enjoying the holiday. But it’s important for you to pause and celebrate yourself this Valentine’s Day, too — especially your health — by becoming aware of blood clot risks. Blood clots are the cause of one in four deaths worldwide and potentially pose a very real danger to both men and women.

As a woman, you may play a major role in looking after your children and your parents. Women are the primary consumers of healthcare services ― often more for the people they care for than for themselves. This Valentine’s Day, why not look into your own particular blood clot risks?

Blood clots are the underlying cause of heart attacks, most strokes, and venous thromboembolism (VTE).

VTE is a condition in which blood clots form in the veins, usually first in the deep veins of the leg — a condition called deep vein thrombosis (DVT) — but can travel through the deep venous system and then lodge in the lungs. A blood clot in the lungs is known as a pulmonary embolism (PE). VTE can be fatal but can also be prevented.

While VTE can affect anyone, certain risk factors are specific to women. To mark Valentine’s Day, remember these top three VTE risk factors for women and share them with a loved one.

1. Estrogen-Containing Pills or Hormone Therapy

Estrogen-based medication, such as birth control pills and hormone therapy, makes your blood more likely to clot. Taking such hormonal medication increases the risk of having a blood clot by two to five times the rate of someone not taking these drugs. For a woman in her twenties, taking the combined oral contraceptive pill increases the rate of blood clots from only about 1 in 10,000 to as high as 1 in 2,000. Some women are at higher risk, for example, if they or someone in their family has had a VTE, if they’re overweight, or if they smoke. When you’re thinking about using any type of estrogen-based medication, first speak with your physician about your risk of VTE.

2. Pregnancy or Recent Birth

Pulmonary embolism is a leading cause of maternal death during pregnancy and after childbirth. The pulmonary embolism risk during pregnancy is about 10 times higher than for women who are not pregnant or are new mothers. And risk is particularly high in the six to eight weeks after the baby is born. Pregnancy makes your blood more likely to clot because of changes in blood clotting factors, pressure on the veins that take the blood back through the pelvis to the heart, and damage to blood vessels — especially during a Cesarean section. Once you’ve had a VTE during or after childbirth, you have an even greater risk of recurrence during other pregnancies.

3. Blood Clot Risks With Older Age

Though VTE can happen at any age, as you get older, the risk increases. Taking estrogen-basedhormone replacement therapy (HRT) increases the risk of VTE two to three times. But because the risk of blood clotting is much higher in older women — and it’s older women who are usually prescribed HRT — the actual blood clot risk is much higher. The usual rate for VTE in women older than 60 is approximately 1 in 1,000; adding in estrogen-based HRT will increase the rate to 1 in 300 to 500.

When to Get a VTE Risk Assessment

If you suspect that you might have VTE, you should see your physician immediately. Tests used to diagnose VTE (ultrasound scan for DVT, and CT scans or ventilation and perfusion scans for PE) are safe for women even during pregnancy and when breastfeeding.

Venous thromboembolisms are often preventable, and evidence-based prevention strategies can stop the development of clots in women who are at risk. It’s important for you, as a woman, to take control of your health and understand your VTE risk factors.

As a first step, ask your physician about getting a VTE risk assessment. In some situations, they may recommend taking preventive treatment, which could include anti-clotting medications (blood thinners) and mechanical devices (compression stockings).

Every woman needs to know the signs and symptoms of VTE. Be a healthy valentine this year and share this important information with someone you care for.