Learn about Deep vein thrombosis symptoms from Consumer Reports Health.

Deep vein thrombosis

What are the symptoms of deep vein thrombosis?

The most obvious symptoms of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) are swelling or pain in the calf or thigh of one leg, or both swelling and pain.

The affected part of the leg can also:

Source:
Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network.
Antithrombotic therapy.
March 1999. SIGN clinical guideline 36. Available at http://www.sign.ac.uk/guidelines/fulltext/36 (accessed on 15 December 2008).

Feel hot
Turn red or purple.

But some people with DVT do not get any symptoms.

If you have DVT, your leg can turn red or purple.

If you get a blood clot and it travels to the

arteries
Arteries are the blood vessels that take blood that is rich in oxygen and food away from your heart. The arteries carry this blood to all the tissues in your body.

artery of one of your lungs (a

pulmonary embolism
A pulmonary embolism can give you chest pain, make you feel breathless and uncomfortable or make you breathe rapidly. A pulmonary embolism is dangerous and can kill you if it is not treated.

pulmonary embolism), you can:

Get breathless
Feel dizzy
Have chest pains
Cough up blood
Feel your heart racing.

Some of these symptoms can happen with other illnesses, not just DVT or pulmonary embolism.

To find out whether you have DVT, your doctor will want to know about your symptoms as well as your health in general. They will also examine your affected leg. But doctors can't tell whether you have DVT simply by examining you. If your doctor thinks you could have DVT, they will send you for some tests right away.

You will probably need an

ultrasound
Ultrasound is a tool doctors use to create images of the inside of your body. The ultrasound machine sends out high-frequency sound waves, which are directed at an area of your body through a device such as a probe. The waves reflect off parts of your body to create a picture. Ultrasound is often used to see a developing baby inside a woman's womb.

ultrasound scan to see whether there's a blood clot in your leg. This scan is good at detecting clots above your knee but less good at spotting clots below your knee.
You might be offered a blood test that can tell doctors whether you have a high or low chance of having DVT. This is called the D-dimer blood test.
If your doctor is still unsure about whether you have DVT, you might need a special type of

X-ray
X-rays are pictures taken of the inside of your body. They are done by passing very small amounts of radiation through your body and onto film. X-rays can also be used as a treatment, such as in radiation therapy for cancer.

X-ray where you have dye injected into a

veins
Veins are blood vessels that carry blood back to your heart after your blood has delivered oxygen and food to the tissues.

vein. This is called venography.
If your doctor thinks you have a clot in your calf, you may need another ultrasound scan in about a week to find out whether the clot has traveled above your knee (this is called proximal DVT). If you have proximal DVT, part of the clot is more likely to break off and travel to your lungs. This is called a

pulmonary embolism
A pulmonary embolism can give you chest pain, make you feel breathless and uncomfortable or make you breathe rapidly. A pulmonary embolism is dangerous and can kill you if it is not treated.

pulmonary embolism and it is dangerous.

To find out whether you have a pulmonary embolism, you'll need other hospital tests, including scans of your lungs.

Sources for the information on this page:

Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network.Antithrombotic therapy.March 1999. SIGN clinical guideline 36. Available at http://www.sign.ac.uk/guidelines/fulltext/36 (accessed on 15 December 2008).

This information was last updated on Jan 09, 2009

This information is for educational use only, and is not a substitute for prompt professional medical advice. Readers should always consult a physician or other professional for advice and treatment.
© BMJ Publishing Group Limited 2009. All rights reserved.

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