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I got sick at 25 and my birthday was the following week and
I honestly didn't know if I would make it to 26.
>> Blood clots don't respect age, sex, race, ethnicity.
>> One minute I was actually fine, laughing, joking,
having a good time.
The next minute, my breathing had changed dramatically.
>> This is getting bad.
I don't wanna die in my sleep or something like that.
>> The scariest part really is the unknown.
>> It could've been very catastrophic for me.
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>> We know that when you are involved in your care,
when you actively participate, it's more rewarding for you,
you have a better experience, and
most importantly, you have better outcomes.
And we need you to be involved.
And one important area for
you to be involved with is the prevention of blood clots.
Blood clots are one of the major causes of
preventable harm in health care.
Indeed we think about 100,000 people die from these every year
and with the right therapies, they're largely preventable.
>> My blood clot was actually a result of
having surgery following the hip fracture.
And the way it was described to me is because the hip fracture,
it's such a large bone and whenever you
have a large bone fracture and surgery you're at risk for
developing a deep vein thrombosis.
>> I was out doing some yard work and
I noticed I was having more shortness of breath.
I mean given my history of being pretty healthy,
it was really easy for me to just say it's nothing serious.
It's a typical guy thing.
I hurt like hell all over my neck, shoulders,
back, and chest, and as I tried to breathe,
it felt like something sharp was being stuck into my lungs.
>> My friends and
I were travelling to Southeast Asia for a month.
Toward the end of the trip, I started to feel all of a sudden,
a swelling and a pain in my leg.
>> All of a sudden, I began to labor with my breathing.
It was very difficult for me to breathe and
I couldn't understand what was wrong with me.
Little did I know that it was the onset of
blood clots that had travelled from my legs up to my lungs.
>> Deep vein thrombosis is a blood clot in the leg and
thrombosis is a clot.
And what can happen is that clot can break off from the vein in
the leg, travel through the body to the lung and when it does
that, that's what's called a pulmonary embolism or a PE.
>> It's deadly in about 10% of cases.
And so it's very important to prevent that blood clot from
developing in the legs so
that pulmonary embolism cannot happen.
>> I developed a blood clot from my ankle
all the way nearly up to my heart.
One long, four foot long blood clot.
I also learned that I had multiple blood clots in both
lungs and
that it was pretty much a miracle that I had survived.
>> They had done some more tests, they did blood work.
And the blood work showed that my D-Dimer level was elevated.
>> Though there are many different tests we can order
as physicians to help determine if you have a blood clot.
Sometimes we'll do a blood test called a D-Dimer,
which can help tell if you have a blood clot in your body.
If we think you have a blood clot in your leg, we will
likely order a duplex ultrasound and watch the blood flow and
make sure we can see the blood flowing normally.
If we're worried that you have a pulmonary embolism or
a blood clot in the lung,
we will most likely order a CAT scan of the chest.
And we can actually look at the blood vessels within the lung
and see if there's a clot in one of those vessels.
>> When I was finally diagnosed with a clot, the first
step is to use what's called low molecular weight heparin.
The drug name is Lovenox.
I stayed on Lovenox for about two and
a half weeks even after I got out of the hospital.
>> Blood clot was very severe and
I didn't get the treatment that was necessary to really
destroy that entire four foot long blood clot.
And I wish that I knew then what I know today so
I could have immediately sought the necessary treatment.
I could have actually avoided the entire experience.
>> The reason everybody in the hospital is at
risk of getting a blood clot is because it means you're sick.
You've got some problem going on that leads you to
being in the hospital and there are so
many things that are associated with getting blood clots.
So surgery is a well known risk factor.
Trauma, orthopedic surgery, hip and knee replacement for
example are one of the highest risk factors.
But also anybody with heart disease, lung disease, pregnancy
or women who are in postpartum, just having had babies.
All these things put you at significant elevated risk for
deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism.
>> I was in a hospital for radical and bladder repair.
I left the hospital and I went home.
A few days later,
I discovered I was having some pain in my right side.
The pain progressed as the day went on.
So I left and I went to the emergency room,
and that's when they discovered that I had
a blood clot in my right lower lung.
>> Many patients when they are admitted to the hospital at
are a really high risk of developing a clot in their leg.
And that could eventually loosen and go into your lungs and
cause you to have serious complications, even death.
>> Some patients are high risk than others.
And our job as physicians is to figure out what your risk is and
suggest to you what the best medications or other
prevention treatments we have to help prevent blood clots are.
>> The prefered technique is to use drugs that thin the blood
that prevent blood clots from forming and
generally we administer these with a needle under the skin.
>> Take it the way the physicians and the nurses and
pharmacists advise.
Because it's all that's standing between you and a coffin.
>> There are also mechanical devices,
some compression stockings, that squeeze your legs.
And those might be right for many patients as well.
>> The squeezy boots,
those mechanical devices to prevent blood from
collecting in the legs >> Keep them on and
if they get up and go to the bathroom,
when they get back into bed, put the devices back out or
actually call the nurse to put them back on.
>> When you go for a walk around the ward, that is excellent.
We encourage as much ambulation as possible.
But that's not enough when you're in the hospital.
We want you wearing these at all times
to help prevent those clots.
>> I made sure every time I was laying down that,
I had not only the compression socks on but
the compression boot cuz, I understood the importance of it.
>> And I did what they told me to do, I never
argued with them or tried to be more doctor than they were.
>> Though often both physicians and
nurses will offer different literature to you.
>> We have this one page fast facts we call it
that you can read through if you'd like or
I can go over some of that with you.
You might even wanna share this with your family, so that they
understand why you are getting these injections every day,
why you are in the hospital.
>> After I left the hospital, I had the Lovenox injections,
that I had to take for a week.
>> When I first realize that I had to give myself Lovenox
injections.
That was a little bit nerve racking for me because,
I don't like needles.
But after I practised with the nurse in the hospital,
I was able to give myself self injections.
>> I'm one of those kinds of people that
I don't like to take medicine unless I absolutely have to.
And the fact that I have to be on this for
the rest of my life doesn't bother me nearly as much
when I weigh the risks of getting another blood clot.
>> There is a message of hope there because, I was stubborn
and doctors told me, I would never be able to run again, but
I went to the gym everyday.
I started running and
I actually run the New York city marathon three months ago.
Two years after that blood clot,
two years after I was in a wheelchair.
I think there are a few things you can do
to avoid getting a blood clot.
>> Be as involved in your care as you can.
This is your body.
>> Put those compression stockings on,
put those compression boots on.
Take your injections.
>> I think it would be a terrible,
terrible shame to not do as your doctor says.
To not take the medicine as you've been told to take.
Because for such a small price you can avoid months and
years and a lifetime of pain and hardship.
>> Blood clots kill 100,000 patients per year.
And if you think about it, that's more than AIDS,
breast cancer, and motor vehicle collisions all combined.
It's a huge problem in America.
>> I have heard about so
many people after my situation who weren't as fortunate and
who died from clotting almost immediately.
I was very fortunate, and
I feel fortunate every day that I'm here.
>> So you've heard a lot of information.
What we want you to leave with is the understanding that,
when we work together, you're going to have better out comes.
And to prevent blood clots, the main things you need to do
are make sure that you're screened to determine your risk
for blood clots and that everyday
you receive the right therapies to prevent those blood clots.
Together, we can help insure
you have the best care possible.
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