I was speaking with a new friend of mine yesterday and she told me about how her husband's first wife died. Evidently she had gained a lot of weight after their first son's birth. She started having blood clots in her legs. She started getting sick due to the clots and one day the clots traveled to her heart and she died. It was very sudden. She did have symptoms of not being able to breath well, light headedness, etc.
Does anyone know what this is? I just couldn't believe it...
Wow - how sad. I've heard about the association between obesity and blood clots in the legs (Deep Vein Thrombosis) many times. I'm almost sure I've heard/read/been told that women who have recently given birth are at higher risk for them as well. So sad.
That's a sad story. Unfortunately, blood clots can be fatal if they break up and travel (they usually end up in the lungs though). Her blood clot may have formed in the heart itself. The good news is they can be treated if diagnosed early. My DH has a clotting disorder and will be taking an anticoagulant the rest of his life to prevent the clotting. He has had clots in his legs (DVT) and lungs (PE).
Symptoms of a clot in the legs are swelling, warmth and redness, and pain when standing or walking. Symptoms of a PE include shortness of breath and chest pain (especially when breathing deeply).
I wonder if the woman in the story above was being treated for the clots. Doctors can run blood tests to determine how much the blood clots and prescribe appropriate medicine to prevent the blood from clotting. Sometimes aspirin alone is enough. When my DH experiences these symptoms, he goes straight to the dr. If the scan shows a blood clot he begins treatment right away. Leg clots can be treated at home (with injections), but a PE requires hospitalization. Thankfully he hasn't had a clot in several years. He had the beginnings of one in his leg last year, but we caught it in time and the medicine cleared it up before it became serious.
Some ways to prevent blood clots? You guessed it. Healthy weight and regular exercise (daily walk will do the trick). BCP and pregnancy hormones do increase the risk.
That's a sad story. Unfortunately, blood clots can be fatal if they break up and travel (they usually end up in the lungs though). Her blood clot may have formed in the heart itself. The good news is they can be treated if diagnosed early. My DH has a clotting disorder and will be taking an anticoagulant the rest of his life to prevent the clotting. He has had clots in his legs (DVT) and lungs (PE).
Symptoms of a clot in the legs are swelling, warmth and redness, and pain when standing or walking. Symptoms of a PE include shortness of breath and chest pain (especially when breathing deeply).
I wonder if the woman in the story above was being treated for the clots. Doctors can run blood tests to determine how much the blood clots and prescribe appropriate medicine to prevent the blood from clotting. Sometimes aspirin alone is enough. When my DH experiences these symptoms, he goes straight to the dr. If the scan shows a blood clot he begins treatment right away. Leg clots can be treated at home (with injections), but a PE requires hospitalization. Thankfully he hasn't had a clot in several years. He had the beginnings of one in his leg last year, but we caught it in time and the medicine cleared it up before it became serious.
Some ways to prevent blood clots? You guessed it. Healthy weight and regular exercise (daily walk will do the trick). BCP and pregnancy hormones do increase the risk.
Wow, thanks for the information. I'd never heard of this and was thinking about it all night. I didn't ask many questions when my friend was telling me the story because I was thinking more about the poor little boy who lost his mommy, so young. It wasn't until our friends left for evening that I started thinking about how it actually happened.
This has struck me deep. Just another reason I MUST become healthy and stay that way. I've never experienced clots or any of the symptoms, but I'm not going to wait to see if it'll ever happen to me... So very sad.
This can pretty much as well after major surgery. My mom had major surgery about 8 years ago, after which she devlopped a blot clot in her right leg. She was put on blood thinners for quite a few years as well had to wear support hose on her leg as well. Definately her being overweight contributed to the problem.
When you travel on planes for long distances like I do you have to get up and move around frequently to avoid blood pooling in your body. I usually take a 10-16 hour flight twice a year and I worry about the DVT. Airlines supply different types of in seat exercises to help as well.
FYI I also drink almost double the water the day before, stay away from caffiene on long flights and do deep breathing exercises to avoid any air sickness.
I took several trips to and from Asia at my heaviest and worried about DVT. I drank a lot and moved a lot on the planes, but worried because I had this odd pain behind my right knee sometimes after the long flights. yes indeed, another reason to keep the weight off!
My mom had a big blood clot in her legs. It happened after a long car trip. She was put in the hospital and they gave her "coumadin" which she called "rat poison" to thin her blood enough so that the clot wouldn't break free and reach her heart. They told her that the clot would never go away, but that if they could keep it from breaking free long enough it would eventually become hard and dry like a scab and not be a danger. So they kept giving her injections for a certain number of days, then they gave her pills to take for 6 months or so. Eventually she was able to get off the blood thinning pills.
Blood clots can happen to anyone, my mom wasn't obese, (old though). It can happen if you are sedentary, spend too much time sitting in front of a computer or riding in a car or plane.
How did this happen?
She did have symptoms of not being able to breath well, light headedness, etc. 
