Vascular Injuries
Vascular trauma/injuries, or damage to a blood vessel, can happen to anyone. Often the result of an accident or injury, a vascular trauma can be mild, moderate, or severe.
What Is Vascular Trauma?
Arteries and veins make up the vascular system.
- Arteries carry blood away from the heart
- Veins carry blood back to the heart
Vascular trauma means that a blood vessel has sustained some kind of injury.
Sometimes, these injuries involve a tear or puncture that causes blood loss. Other times they cause damage to the vessel from crushing or twisting.
Vascular trauma risk factors and causes:
Anyone can experience vascular trauma because of an injury — whether intentional or unintentional.
Vascular trauma causes:
Vascular trauma can result from a wide range of causes, including:
- Injury (accidents, falls, cuts, etc.)
- Violence
- Pinching of a vein or artery (internal or external)
- Dislocation of a bone
- Piercing of a vein, such as with insertion of an IV
Vascular trauma can lead to a number of complications, including:
- Loss of blood, sometimes a large amount
- Formation of a blood clot (thrombosis)
- Bruising and swelling
- Soreness or pain
- Scarring
Scarring or incomplete healing can cause permanent weakness in the artery or vein, which makes it more prone to future injury.
Blood clots can cause a blockage of blood flow. A clot becomes especially dangerous when it breaks off and travels through to another part of the body, like the heart, lungs, or brain.