DVT Blood Clots: What you must know

Short for Deep-Vein Thrombosis, DVT is a public health threat that affects up to two million Americans each year. Yet, a national survey conducted by the Coalition to Prevent Deep-Vein Thrombosis reveals that 60% of us have not heard of this condition.
Like most of us, Lainie Kazan didn’t know what DVT was when she first had symptoms after breaking her foot more than a quarter century ago. “I had a bad fracture, tore a lot of ligaments and damaged tissue,” Kazan remembers. “I was put in a cast and sent on my way to do a concert tour in Australia,” the indefatigable performer continued. “I started feeling strange, like I was getting the flu. I called my doctor and he said, ‘You’re not going anywhere.’ He diagnosed me over the phone.”
Needless to say, Kazan missed her plane. Instead, she went to her doctor’s office for an x-ray. Next thing she knew, she was in the hospital, on blood thinners and the critical list. She would later learn the cause was related to a too-tight cast on her broken foot.
Certain individuals may be at increased risk for DVT, but it can occur in almost anyone. Some of the more common risk factors are related to restricted movement from long periods of travel, obesity, pregnancy, hospitalization and other sedentary activities. However, risk is hardly limited either. In other words, no one is immune so awareness is key.
Symptoms can include pain, swelling, tenderness and discoloration, but half of episodes can produce minimal or no signs. For that reason, it is known as a “silent killer.”
According to the Coalition to Prevent DVT, the condition occurs when a blood clot forms in one of the large veins, usually in the lower extremities, leading to either partially or completely blocked circulation. If left untreated, this clot has the potential to move into the lungs and block circulation to this vital organ creating a life-threatening condition known as pulmonary embolism (PE).
Kazan also suffered from this serious and sometimes fatal complication of DVT. A pulmonary embolism occurred when a fragment of the blood clot broke loose from the wall of the vein and migrated to one of her lungs.
PE claims the lives of up to 300,000 people in the United States each year. That’s more than breast cancer and AIDS combined. Fortunately, Kazan recovered, but her frightening ordeal lasted a couple of years and she is still considered at risk for DVT.
Helping others through her personal experience, the award-winning actress and singer hailed for numerous performances including “My Big Fat Greek Wedding,” is now educating the public about the signs, symptoms and risk factors as part of the sanofi-aventis campaign, DVT Blood Clots: Know The Stats. Know Your Risk.
“I feel very obliged to do this because I really suffered in my young years with this,” says Kazan, noting that the condition was relatively unknown at the time. “Now, I’m talking to people all the time, explaining the signs and symptoms and what the risks are. I’m urging everyone to call or go to the website, and talk to their physician.”
For more information and a free risk assessment kit, visit www.dvt.net or call 1.866.MY.DVT.RISK.
“I have been given many gifts,” says the talented performer. “One is my health. Another is the ability to capture an audience’s attention with song, and the ability to make people laugh. This time, I’m using it to talk to people about DVT. It can be fatal; it’s no joke.”