According to latest studies, the level of iron in the blood plays a major role in blood clots. The relation between the two has been found to be inversely proportional. In other words, if iron level in the blood is high, the risk of blood clots reduces. Since some internal clots can lead to strokes and cardiac arrests, it is important to be aware of the level of iron in the blood and if found low, supplements have to be consumed.Iron deficiency is especially disastrous for people who suffer chronic blood vessel diseases. Known as deep vein thrombosis, which is a condition that leads to blood clots in the veins, affects one out of a thousand people. Some of the most disastrous repercussions of this disease take place if clot gets into the lungs.
The present study was conducted by researchers from Imperial college of London. Patients suffering from HHT, which stands for haemorrhagic telangiectasia, were studied under the research. HHT is a typical blood vessel disease. Severe bleeding from the gut and nose are the most common symptoms of the disease. Although this disease has been linked as a cause for blood clotting, the exact reasons of clotting are not known.
According to Dr. Claire Shovlin, the lead researcher of the study, risk factors such as surgery and cancer were not evident in all people who suffer from irregular blood clots. For the study, a total of 609 patients were considered. These people had taken treatment at the Hammersmith Hospital between the years 1999 and 2011. The major objective of the study was to find out the differences in blood composition between people who did not have blood clots and those who did.
It was found that one major difference was in the level of iron in the blood. It was assumed that this low level in people who had clots was due to excessive bleeding. Further research revealed that low levels of iron in the blood were not just a repercussion but also a risk factor for clotting. People who has clots but were prescribed iron supplements did not have as many clots as the ones who did not take iron supplements.
The results of the study can be used extensively, if more research collaborated with these findings. Since low level of iron in blood is a treatable condition, health hazards due to blood clots can be drastically reduced. As per statistics, around one billion people all around that world suffer low iron anemia. This treatable risk can save millions of people from disastrous repercussions.