Blood Clot Risk in Young Women

Most conditions that cause blood clots in women of reproductive age are due to hormonal imbalances. These conditions may also affect women in the menopause transition (perimenopause), since the body still produces enough estrogen to continue menstrual periods. These health conditions are generally rare in menopausal women.

Endometriosis

• Endometriosis is a condition that causes the uterine tissue to grow outside of the uterus. The uterine lining called the endometrium begins to grow on the ovaries, outer perimeter of the uterus, abdomen, rectum, pelvic lining and bowels. Unlike the endometrium within the uterus that sheds every month, the endometrium growing elsewhere in the body will not shed, but will swell and bleed slightly. After this bleeding, the patches of endometrium will heal and cause bleeding again the next month, when the menstrual cycle begins again.

Uterine Fibroids

• Uterine fibroids are benign growths that form inside of the endometrial walls. These non-cancerous growths may appear as one or many and they may range in size from as small as a speck to as large as a grapefruit. According to Medline Plus, these are the most common type of pelvic tumor. In addition, Medline Plus also states that uterine fibroids affect one in every five women of childbearing age, mostly targeting women over the age of 30. The most common symptoms of uterine fibroids are blood clots and heavy bleeding.

Uterine Polyps

• Uterine polyps are bulb-shaped growths that form from the uterine walls, and hang down into the uterine cavity. These benign growths vary in size from the size of a sunflower seed to the size of a golf ball. Causes of uterine polyps are unknown, but they have been found to be estrogen sensitive. Symptoms of uterine polyps are irregular menstrual bleeding, bleeding in between periods, heavy bleeding (with or without blood clots) and infertility.

Miscarriage

• A miscarriage occurs when a pregnancy ends before the 20-week mark (spontaneous abortion). A spontaneous abortion occurs anytime a pregnancy ends naturally without elective termination. Miscarriages have several causes, the most common causes are hormone problems, infections, physical problems with the mothers reproductive organs, immune response issues, certain diseases and uncontrolled diabetes. Symptoms of a miscarriage include low back pain, abdominal pain, vaginal bleeding, passing blood clots, tissue or clotlike material.

Heavy Menstrual Period

• Menorrhagia is heavy menstrual bleeding. According to Womentowomen.com heavy bleeding and clotting are common problems for several women. The causes of heavy bleeding vary woman to woman, but the most common are hormone imbalances, fibroids, perimenopause (menopause transition) and hypothalamic dysfunction. Signs and symptoms of menorrhagia are menstrual periods that last more than 10 days, flow that includes clots, constant pain, fatigue and anemia.