London, Dec 15 (ANI): A new research has indicated that iron supplements could be used to prevent deep vein thrombosis and other life-threatening blood clots.
Each year, one in 1,000 people in Britain is affected by clots that form in the veins, and scientists now believe the risk could rise in those with a lack of iron.
DVT is often associated with long distance air travel and other situations that involve being immobile for long periods of time.
Clots frequently form in the legs causing painful swelling and, in some cases, a danger that lumps of blood will dislodge and travel to the lungs with fatal results.
Researchers at Imperial College London studied 609 patients with blood vessel disease haemorrhagic telangiectasia, who have a higher risk of blood clots.
They found that this increased risk disappeared when the HHT sufferers took iron supplements.
Many of the patients had low iron levels, because of iron loss through excessive bleeding - a symptom of HHT.
"Our study shows that in people with HHT, low levels of iron in the blood is a potentially treatable risk factor for blood clots," the Daily Mail quoted lead researcher Dr Claire Shovlin, from the university's National Heart and Lung Institute as saying.
"There are small studies in the general population which would support these findings, but more studies are needed to confirm this.
"If the finding does apply to the general population, it would have important implications in almost every area of medicine," she added.
The finding was published in the journal Thorax. (ANI)
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