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The best way to get attention for a DVT is to go see your clinician. The clinician would do a good history and physical. The next thing they might do is order a blood test called a D-dimer. The D-dimer is a test that tells the presence of a clot. So if they check the blood and the D-dimer is high, they suspect a DVT. The next test they might order is what we call a duplex ultrasound of the veins of the lower extremity. This may help diagnose a clot present in the deep veins. If that is not diagnostic and negative, an MRI could be done to try to identify clots in the abdomen and pelvis. And obviously if those are not diagnostic, other measures could be taken such as an invasive test called a venogram to diagnose obstruction of the veins in a lower or upper extremity.
