Dennis Farina and Blood Clots
Yesterday, actor Dennis Farina died of a blood clot in his lung. Earlier this year, Hillary Clinton was hospitalized with a blood clot. Two high profile Chicagoans with the same serious issue. If you're like me, you were probably wondering what exactly is a blood clot and how does it end up being fatal?
Let's start out with what is a blood clot? Blood flows throughout your body through vessel walls. When it finds a damaged blood vessel, platelets break off and clump together at that site. It reduces the blood flow that is necessary to make the body work. In even more laymen terms, clots are clumps that occur when blood hardens from a liquid to a solid form.
When does this become dangerous? When the clots start to travel and end up in your heart, brain or lungs. That could lead to a stroke or heart attack.
So what happened in Farina's case? Blood clots in the lung can be fatal because it can lead to a pulmonary embolism, which is blockages to the lung's arteries. When this happens, tissues die, depriving oxygen to the body.
Who is at risk for blood clots? You find them in people who have not been moving for long periods of time. Someone who has been sitting through a long plane flight. Someone who is bedridden with an illness. Family illness history, too. A lot of the same things that lead to possible heart attacks and strokes can also lead to blood clots....high blood pressure, cholesterol.
Symptoms include coughs, shortness of breath, chest pain and possible leg swelling. The leg swelling and pain is important to note because a lot of blood clots start in the legs.
How do you avoid blood clots? Same way you fight against heart disease and strokes....exercise, keep your blood pressure and cholesterol under control and watch what you eat. Certain foods have helped in controlling blood clots, such as apples and oranges. In this case an apple a day really does keep the doctor away.
I recall that back in early 2000, David Letterman had emergency bypass surgery. There was a run of middle age men visiting their doctors to make sure they were heart healthy. Between 300,000-600,000 people are affected by blood clots, each year. With two high profile victims, one fatal, I imagine we could see the same thing at doctor's offices this year.
If you need more information, it's easy to find. Sites like WebMD and even Wikipedia will give you enough information to make you dangerous.