Blood clots in the legs--also known as deep vein thrombosis--may have symptoms that include swelling, pain, redness or warmth in the area of the clot. This alerts doctors that you need treatment. Blood clots can break off and travel through the vein to the heart, where it blocks arterial blood flow to the lungs. The blockage, called pulmonary embolism, has potentially fatal consequences. The treatment's aim is to dissolve the clots and prevent pulmonary embolism.
Anticoagulants
Anticoagulants, also called blood thinners, help dissolve blood clots in the legs to prevent them from breaking off and posing danger by traveling to the lungs. Blood thinners such as heparin are injected in the vein or administered intravenously. The medication is discontinued after a few days. Some people need additional blood thinning medication for several months, according to the Merck Manuals Online Library. Patients may have had blood clots before or may be at risk for blood clots because of certain medical conditions. Warfarin, taken in pill form, works over a longer period as a blood thinner. Anticoagulants increase the risk of excessive bleeding. Patients undergo regular blood tests to make sure clots don't form from excess bleeding.
Filters
Blood thinners may not work effectively on some patients. Other patients can't take the medication because of such conditions as bleeding ulcers. Doctors can insert a filter, called a vena cava filter, in a large vein in the abdomen that carries blood to the heart. The filter catches a wandering clot before it can travel up the bloodstream, according to the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute. The filters don't prevent clots from forming but remain in the body permanently.
Emergency Treatment
Symptoms of a clot in the lung include shortness of breath, coughing up blood or loss of consciousness. When severe symptoms occur, doctors use strong medicine called thrombolytics that dissolve a blood clot more quickly. Thrombolytics can cause sudden bleeding and are only used in life-threatening conditions. Doctors may also insert a catheter, a flexible tube, into a vein in the groin. They thread the tube to the clot in the lung and either extract it or dispense medicine to dissolve the clot.
Compression
Compression stockings prevent the swelling caused by blood clots, the Mayo Clinic says. The tight stockings are worn up to the knee and prevent blood from pooling in the leg to create clots. Doctors may prescribe compression stockings after treatment to reduce the chance of clots forming again.
