Dumb Question about DVT/PE

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Dumb Question about DVT/PE

Postby Lesliec1 » Fri Nov 27, 2015 12:09 pm

Just wondering because someone on FB was asking for help for this.

Isn't DVT basically the same thing as heart attack or stroke, except that it affects the legs? Or do I have that totally wrong?

If so, it would be controlled by this WOE, right? I tried searching for DVT but nothing came up. I thought it was pretty common. The cdc website mentions obesity as a cause (though it's very far down on the list.)
Lesliec1
 

Re: Dumb Question about DVT/PE

Postby mpthompson » Sat Nov 28, 2015 1:38 am

Not a dumb question at all. Remember from school -- arteries carry oxygenated blood from the heart and lungs to the rest of the body while veins return blood from the body to the heart and lungs. In textbooks, arteries are typically represented as red pathways that branch from the heart and lungs to deliver blood to the rest of the body while veins are represented as blue pathways that come from the rest of the body and merge together to deliver blood back to the the heart and lungs.

Heart attacks and strokes are caused blood clots that form in arteries. Because arteries are branching they get smaller in the direction of blood flow and can be blocked quite easily by a clot. This blockage can prevent oxygen carrying blood from reaching muscle tissue in the heart or nerve tissue in the brain -- injuring or killing the tissue who's blood supply is blocked by the clot.

DVT is a clot forms in the veins of the legs which are on the other side of the circulatory system. These clots usually form due to poor circulation and/or blood that clots very easily. I developed DVT a few years ago after sitting on a cramped international plane flight without getting up to move around for many hours. Because DVT forms within the veins, the major danger is that a substantial clot could dislodge from the leg, travel up the body, through the heart and into the lungs where a life-threatening pulmonary embolism can form. Such a large clot can move so freely through the body because the pathway through the veins back to the lungs gets wider and wider until the lungs are reached. If the clot is large enough and injury to lungs severe, the lungs may no longer function well enough to sufficiently oxygenate blood which can be a life threatening condition.

So to answer your question, heart attacks, strokes and DVT/PE involve dangerous blood clots, but the underlying mechanism which causes a heart attack or stroke and the resulting injury is much different than that from DVT/PE. Because DVT/PE is typically not related to an underlying chronic illness related to diet, but rather a condition or injury that caused the clot in the leg, this WOE probably wouldn't make much of a difference in preventing DVT/PE.
mpthompson
 
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Re: Dumb Question about DVT/PE

Postby Lesliec1 » Sat Nov 28, 2015 9:22 am

I don't know... I searched this site and there isn't much but I did find this (5th paragraph). So possibly Dr. McDougall wouldn't agree that the cause isn't dietary? Not sure.



https://www.drmcdougall.com/misc/2003nl/030100putamingelevatedtriglyceridesPF.htm
Lesliec1
 

Re: Dumb Question about DVT/PE

Postby mpthompson » Sat Nov 28, 2015 10:05 pm

Well, considering that this WOE contributes to overall health, it seems that it would contribute to avoiding or recovering from DVT/PE. However, one could develop DVT/PE from a broken leg or an operation where one is restricted to long term bed rest for recovery -- both clearly unrelated to diet.

I did find the following link that describes a possible association between diet and DVT:

http://www.nutritionmd.org/health_care_ ... ition.html

As that web page says "Two nutritional factors are associated with reduced risk of DVT, without clear evidence of cause and effect."
mpthompson
 
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Joined: Wed May 20, 2015 1:26 pm


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