Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT) Care
People diagnosed with acute deep vein thrombosis (DVT) need specialized care. Your doctor may refer you to the Cone Health Deep Vein Thrombosis Clinic to ensure the safest, most effective treatment plan. Our team of DVT experts takes a coordinated approach to your care.
DVT is a serious condition that requires treatment. Vein disorders like DVT are the third most common cause of cardiovascular death after heart attack and stroke.
The Cone Health Steven D. Bell Family Heart & Vascular Center has a walk-in DVT clinic that can obtain specialized imaging to diagnose DVT and set up a treatment plan.
DVT Symptoms and Diagnosis
If you have DVT, you might experience:
- Swelling in your leg or arm: Your arm or leg, especially the calf or thigh, may become larger.
- Pain or tenderness: It could feel like a cramp or soreness in the affected area.
- Warmth or redness: The area with the clot might feel warmer or look red.
- Skin discoloration: Your skin might turn blue or red.
- Swollen or bulging veins: The veins in the affected area might stand out.
- Heaviness or fatigue: Your leg or arm might feel heavy or tired.
DVT can lead to a life-threatening condition called pulmonary embolism. This is a blockage in a lung artery. Call 911 immediately if you experience shortness of breath, rapid heart rate or chest pain. Doctors diagnose DVT based on your medical history, risk factors and a physical examination. If they suspect DVT, they may use ultrasound, CT or MRI to check for blood clots.
Care Plan for DVT
Our team will create your care plan for DVT based on your unique situation. DVT blood clot treatments include medication and minimally invasive procedures:
- Anticoagulants (blood thinners): These medications help prevent new clots but don't dissolve existing ones.
- Minimally invasive procedures: Vascular surgeons may use a suction catheter or catheter-directed thrombolysis (clot-busting medicine) to dissolve or remove blood clots.
What to Expect During a DVT Procedure
Your doctor will prepare you with instructions before your procedure. They may give you local or general anesthesia.
After numbing the site, your vascular surgeon typically uses a small needle to place an IV into the clotted vein. They insert a small tube called a catheter inside the vein and take an x-ray to look at the extent of the clot. Your doctor then uses small devices to remove or dissolve the clot. They use ultrasound with and x-ray with dye to confirm they removed the clot. Sometimes, a stent is needed to treat narrowing that may have led to the clot.
You might go home the same day or stay overnight in the hospital. Your doctor will give you specific guidelines for a successful recovery.
Our Clinic Offers
When you get DVT care at Cone Health, you have:
- A specialized care team, including vascular physicians and a clinical pharmacist practitioner, (CPP) coordinates your medication therapy with physicians specializing in DVT
- Consistent, collaborative care so you get the right treatments at the right times
- A seamless transition of care from cardiovascular imaging to our clinic for treatment, reducing the risk of emergency care needs
- Greater convenience with regular follow-up outpatient care and on-site prescription fills
- Medication education and affordability resources
- Regular check-ups to ensure your recovery
- Close monitoring to reduce the risk of pulmonary embolism and bleeding
- Evaluation for all DVT treatment options, including procedures for iliofemoral DVT
Insurance Coverage
Most insurance plans cover DVT procedures. Your out-of-pocket expenses will depend on your insurance plan and whether you have met deductibles. Your insurance may not fully cover your medications. Our clinical pharmacist will work with you to make them as affordable as possible.
For Referring Providers
DVT Clinic Referral Process Built into Epic:
When ordering an ultrasound to rule out DVT, select yes to the order question to refer to the DVT Clinic if the patient is positive for acute DVT and meets the criteria for outpatient management. If the patient meets the requirements and we select the referral, we will schedule them in the clinic following their ultrasound appointment.
If a patient receives a diagnosis when the clinic is closed, you can still make the referral, and we will schedule the patient when the clinic is open again. However, we defer initial management to the referring provider, who the sonographer will tell if the clinic is closed.
Providers on Epic may also enter a standalone referral to the clinic via ambulatory referral to the Deep Vein Thrombosis Clinic.
For Referring Providers Without Access to Epic:
- For practices that fax orders for vascular ultrasound, please edit fax forms to include the following statement: “If positive for DVT and patient meets criteria for outpatient management, refer to DVT Clinic for treatment.”
- Vascular imaging fax numbers: Magnolia 336-663-5738, Moses Cone 336-832-7326
- To enter a standalone referral to DVT Clinic (not embedded within the ultrasound order), please fax the referral to 336-663-5734.
