What is D-dimer Test – Uses, Preparation & Risks Explained

Blood clotting is an essential process preventing excessive blood loss after an injury. Doctors rely on a D-dimer test to determine if you have a blood clotting disorder. If you have a high level of D-dimer in your blood, you might have to undergo more tests to diagnose a blood clotting disorder.

Are you about to undergo a D-dimer test and wish to learn more about it? Then, this article will help you get a clearer idea about this test and its outcomes.

A blood clotting disorder is a severe condition that can form blood clots even without injuries. D-dimer is a protein fragment that your body forms when it dissolves a blood clot. A D-dimer test helps in measuring this protein fragment in your body.

However, this test is only detectable if your body forms or breaks down significant blood clots. If this test shows a positive D-dimer, it means you might have a blood clotting disorder, but the test does not guarantee it. Thus, if you wonder what the D-dimer test is, it is a test to determine whether your body can clot your blood as and when required.

Now, when it comes to the use of a D-dimer test, healthcare professionals mainly use it to check if a patient has the following disorders.

• Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT): This type of blood clot is located deep inside a vein. While these can occur in any part of the body, the lower leg areas are more prone to experiencing these.
• Pulmonary Embolism (PE): It is a type of blockage in any of the lungs’ arteries. Usually, it occurs when a blood clot in a different body part breaks loose, travelling to the lungs. Often, DVT clots result in PE. 
• Disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC): Your body forms excessive blood clots when you have this condition. These can result in organ failure and other complications.
• Stroke: This is a type of blood supply blockage in the brain.

Therefore, a D-dimer test helps diagnose conditions such as DVT and PE in individuals. If you find the symptoms of these conditions and take the help of a physician, you might use this test to analyse your current medical condition.

The process is quite simple if you wonder how the D-dimer test is done. First, the doctors ask you to settle in a chair or a medical bed while checking your arms to find a vein. Once they find a vein, they disinfect the area and insert a small needle for drawing your blood through the vein. After collecting it in a small test tube, they remove the needle and place a bandage on the site. 

Therefore, the D-dimer test is as simple as a standard blood drawing process. When it comes to the price of a D-dimer test, it usually depends on your location. However, on average, you might have to spend about ₹1,000 for getting your D-dimer tested in India. At most, the cost of a D-dimer test can rise to ₹1,500 in India.

Now, if you wonder what a D-dimer reading shows, it mainly includes the level of D-dimer in your blood, representing low, normal or high. A high D-dimer reading means you might have a blood clotting disorder. On the other hand, if the reading shows low or normal, you do not have any issues with blood clotting. However, the test cannot show the areas or types of blood clotting you might be having.

There can be various causes of increased D-dimer in your blood. Common reasons include heart diseases, recent surgeries or infections, and pregnancy. When doctors find such a level in your test, they encourage you to take more tests to guarantee your blood clotting disorder before starting a treatment.

Now that you understand the meaning of a D-dimer test, you must be wondering about the applicable requirements on your part before taking this test. However, it is safe to say that the patients need no special preparation to take a D-dimer test.

Now that you know the use of the D-dimer test and its cost, you might wonder about its risks. As discussed already, this test is similar to any standard form of a blood test by simply drawing blood from your veins. There are hardly any risks in this process. You might get slight soreness or bruise in the area after this, but this is nothing serious.

Hence, as you can see, a D-dimer test can be an essential first step to diagnose the presence of any blood clotting disorder in your body. Even though this test does not 100% guarantee the authenticity of its results, most healthcare professionals prefer it for getting a basic idea of your health condition. Moreover, the process is fast and straightforward, helping them quickly move to the following procedures.