Doctor told me I'm at high risk of developing a DVT

[Raerae91]

Went to the emergency last night for heart palps and shortness of breathe, they ran a ekg which said were normal then a Chevy X-ray and blood work and then the doctor came back and said everything looked normal except you have a risk of developing a blood clot since my mother and brother has had one in the past that immediately sent me in a panic I'm only 18 and am already at high risk of getting that was extremely overwhelming I cried my eyes out not understanding and the doctor kept trying to reassure me that I don't have one but I do have risks of getting one in the future because of my family. She immediately ordered a CAT scan on my chest and it came back clear and sent me home but I'm just extremely confused and anxious how I am at such high risk :(

[KeeKee]

I think when a first degree relative has something like that, you are at higher risk as there's a chance it could be hereditary.
I'm sorry to hear you are going through this, have they not offered any preventative measures?
Please be aware though that higher risk still doesn't mean it will definitely happen to you.

[Fishmanpa]

Please be aware though that higher risk still doesn't mean it will definitely happen to you.

Exactly. I'm at an extremely high risk of having more heart issues due to my past history of heart disease. It doesn't mean it's going to happen. As KeeKee said, perhaps you should ask about any preventative measures you should put in place now to minimize any risks.

Positive thoughts

[Raerae91]

Thanks for the replies, they just said to exercise, no smoking ( which I already don't do) and eat right. They didn't really seemed very concerned, I believe it was the d-dimer blood test they did that was elevated. I am just extremely confused, all ekgs ct and X-ray of my chest is normal but am still getting sob and minor chest pain. The doctors told me not to worry but that's pretty hard to tell someone who had elevated blood clotting shown up and has severe anxiety. Not sure what to do I don't want to look like a fool and show up to the emergency room again demanding answers but now I'm panicking constantly

[Fishmanpa]

they just said to exercise, no smoking ( which I already don't do) and eat right. They didn't really seemed very concerned

Yep.. common sense. Same thing with me. Eat right, exercise, no smoking etc... That's all you can do anyway. There's a good reason they're not concerned. Keep telling yourself that!

Positive thoughts

[Raerae91]

Hi all just wanted to update you. After my emergency room visit and the doctor saying my D-dimer was high which means I could have blood clots I was in full state of anxiety 24/7 until today even though I got ct scans and ekgs the fact that the blood test was high stayed on my mind so yesterday I contacted my doctor and expressed my concerns she said the blood test is highly sensitive and I have nothing to worry about but I couldn't take the risk of just ignoring it and demanded a redo on the d-dimer test. I got the results back today and they're normal! I couldn't be more relieved I still don't know how during my ER visit it showed up as 1500 when the normal range is below 500 but I couldn't be happier that my redo is 299!

Just wanted to say if you're on the defense or feel the need to take tests for reassurance for your own self, that's totally okay and sometimes, take my situation, blood tests show up as inaccurate so if you're stressing about a test be open to your doctor about it.