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Patient handout · Cardiovascular

Preventing Blood Clots: Your Daily Guide

A DVT is a blood clot in a deep vein, usually in the leg. If a piece breaks off and travels to your lungs (pulmonary embolism), it is an emergency. These steps help stop clots from forming.

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Know your risk

  • Surgery, bed rest, or sitting for a long time
  • Trips longer than 4 hours
  • Birth control pills, hormone pills, pregnancy, or a recent birth
  • Cancer, a past blood clot, extra weight, or smoking

Keep your legs moving

  • Walk as soon and as often as your care team allows.
  • Every hour while awake, point and flex your feet and circle your ankles.
  • Do not cross your legs. Do not sit for a long time.

Use your clot-prevention plan

  • Wear compression stockings or leg pumps as prescribed. Keep stockings smooth, with no rolled tops.
  • Take your blood thinner exactly as prescribed, until the end date.
  • Drink plenty of fluids, unless you have a fluid limit.

On long trips

  • Every 1 to 2 hours, get up and walk, or stop the car and stretch.
  • Move your feet and ankles while you sit. Drink water. Limit alcohol.

If your leg hurts

  • Do not rub or massage a swollen, painful leg. Rubbing risks moving a clot to your lungs.
  • Call your provider the same day.

Call your provider today if you have

  • Swelling in one leg
  • A warm, red, or sore spot on one calf or thigh
  • Leg pain or cramping that does not go away
  • Bleeding gums or new bruises while on a blood thinner

Call 911 or your local emergency number if you have

  • Sudden shortness of breath
  • Chest pain, mainly when you breathe in deeply
  • Coughing up blood
  • A racing heartbeat with dizziness or fainting

This handout supports, not replaces, advice from your own nurse or doctor.

For nurses and nursing students: the teaching guide behind this handout →