What is Post Thrombotic Syndrome?
Post-thrombotic syndrome (PTS) is a condition that can occur as a complication of deep vein thrombosis (DVT), a blood clot that forms in a deep vein, typically in the legs. Even with successful DVT treatment, the blood clot can cause lasting damage to your veins. This damage prevents your veins from working as well as they should.
What are the signs of post-thrombotic syndrome?
Signs are things you can see when looking at your leg or arm. Your provider will also look for these signs during an appointment. The signs of post-thrombotic syndrome include:
- Swelling (edema).
- Red or discolored skin.
- Thickened skin.
- New varicose veins.
- Spider veins.
- Venous ulcers (in severe cases)
What are the risk factors for this condition?
Anyone who’s had DVT is at risk for post-thrombotic syndrome. However, you face a higher risk if you’ve had recurrent DVT, especially in the same limb. This means you had more than one episode of DVT affecting the same leg or arm.
You may also face a higher risk if the blood clot you had in the past:
- Affected a large portion of your vein.
- Formed in your upper thigh or pelvis (proximal DVT), as opposed to your calf (distal DVT). In particular, your risk is higher if the clot formed in your iliac vein or common femoral vein.
- Formed in a larger vein of your upper body, like one in your shoulder or upper chest (axillo-subclavian vein thrombosis).
- Didn’t fully go away after treatment (residual thrombosis).
Additional risk factors include:
- Having pre-existing chronic venous insufficiency (CVI).
- Having a BMI (body mass index) above 30 (having obesity).
Are you suffering from any foot condition? At The Chelsea Clinic, we can help. One of our podiatrist can assist and then recommend what treatments are best to get you back on track. Podiatrist South Kensington
Schedule an appointment here or you may call us at +44 (0) 207 101 4000.
We hope you have a feetastic day!
-The Chelsea Clinic and Team
