Blood Clots

Risk Factors

Many factors may increase your risk for deep vein thrombosis:

• Having an inherited blood clotting disorder

• Having slowed blood flow—resulting from injury, surgery (particularly orthopedic surgery or abdominal surgery), or immobilization—in a deep vein

A blood clot that blocks an artery or vein and stops blood flow is called a thrombus. These are most commonly found in the veins of the leg and can travel to the pelvis and lungs. A thrombus in the leg or pelvic vein is called a deep vein thrombosis (DVT).