What happens if you have a blood clot in your heart?

Heart or lungs: A blood clot in the heart will cause symptoms of a heart attack such as crushing chest pain, sweating, pain that travels down the left arm, and/or shortness of breath. A blood clot in the lungs can cause chest pain, difficulty breathing, and sometimes can lead to coughing up blood.

How serious are blood clots in the heart?

Blood clots can happen anywhere in the body and cause severe problems. But when they occur in the heart, the clots can cut off critical blood flow and result in a heart attack.

How do you get rid of a blood clot in the heart?

If a person is diagnosed with blood clots in the heart, treatment with anticoagulants, antiplatelets, or blood thinners might be prescribed by the doctor to immediately treat the clot. A similar treatment might be recommended as an ongoing regular medication regimen to prevent further complications.

What causes a clot in the heart?

Waxy cholesterol plaques that form in arteries have these things inside, too. If the plaque breaks open, they’ll start the clotting process. Most heart attacks and strokes happen when a plaque in your heart or brain suddenly bursts. Blood clots can also form when your blood doesn’t flow properly.

How do they remove a blood clot in the heart?

The doctor will make a cut in the area above your blood clot. He or she will open the blood vessel and take out the clot. In some cases, a balloon attached to a thin tube (catheter) will be used in the blood vessel to remove any part of the clot that remains. A stent may be put in the blood vessel to help keep it open.

How are blood clots in the heart treated?

Treatments include: injections of a medicine called a thrombolytic which can dissolve some blood clots. an operation to remove the clot (embolectomy) an operation to widen the affected artery – for example, an angioplasty (where a hollow tube is placed inside the artery to hold it open)

How do they remove a blood clot from the heart?

During a surgical thrombectomy, a surgeon makes an incision into a blood vessel. The clot is removed, and the blood vessel is repaired. This restores blood flow. In some cases, a balloon or other device may be put in the blood vessel to help keep it open.

What causes blood clots in heart arteries?

Most cases of arterial thrombosis are caused when a process called atherosclerosis damages an artery. Fatty deposits build up on the walls of the arteries and cause them to harden and narrow.

Can you go home with a blood clot?

Will you be admitted to the hospital or sent home? If a DVT is confirmed, you may be discharged and sent home with injectable or oral anticoagulant medication (sometimes called a blood thinner). That said, every patient is different, and you may be admitted to the hospital if the ER doctor believes it’s necessary.