Blood Clot Awareness
Pulmonary Embolism: Blood Clots in Young People
The day was Saturday November 16, 2019. Keaton Kroll, a 16 year old boy, had a full day of activities. He first went out for breakfast with his friends and then got his favorite drink of Biggby coffee. After that he went home to spend time with his family, watching holiday movies together. The only thing that bothered him that day was his leg. Keaton plays soccer so he thought he had pulled a calf muscle or that he pulled a muscle in his strength class. At 8:00, Keaton went to his soccer game that night. He thought he was feeling good enough to play. The game began and Keaton was feeling good. He’s the goalie and made a lot of saves until he asked to come off. He knew something was wrong and then all of a sudden he collapsed on the side of the soccer field. Keaton’s heart stopped that night and he passed away.
Keaton died from a pulmonary embolism. He had a blood clot in his leg that traveled to his lungs. This was the reason he felt pain in his leg. Many cases around the US have young people die from random blood clots especially athletes because they don’t think anything of the pain. They think it’s just sports related. How can a young, athletic, healthy individual die from a blood clot and why is this becoming a more common thing in America? We need to raise more awareness on this issue and have a blood test for athletes in schools in case they may find something. Also whether this problem is genetic or from other circumstances.
Blood clots are more common with older aged people but younger people tend to have them too. A blood clot or pulmonary embolism is when a blood clot in a leg and any other part of the body forms and travels to the lungs causing shortness of breath or death. The symptoms of pulmonary embolism is extremely important to pay attention to because it’s a medical emergency that must be treated right away if caught. Some symptoms can be small like pain in the legs or arms or even back. Some other symptoms are shortness of breath, chest pain, feeling light headed, sweating more than normal or passing out. (Khatri). If someone may have any of these signs, they must take it seriously as having a pulmonary embolism is very severe and deadly.
Blood clots can be inherited in a persons’ family and passed down through each generation. These types of blood clots can happen sometimes without a cause. “Inherited causes of blood clots are related to a genetic tendency for clot formation. People with inherited conditions tend to develop blood clots before 45 years of age. For these individuals, their blood clots may occur without a cause, and they are likely to have more than one blood clot in their lifetime” (Inherited Causes). This can explain blood clot formations in younger people, but otherwise still brings up a lot of questions on how the young people get the blood clots if it isn’t in their genes?
Blood clots can form anywhere in the body. “Clots in the deep veins of the legs, arms, pelvis, abdomen, or around the brain are called deep vein thrombosis” (DVT). If a piece of the clot breaks off from a leg or arm and travels to the lung, it can cause a clot in the lung. A clot in the lung is called a Pulmonary Embolism or PE. A PE can be a life threatening medical emergency” (Athletes). Many doctors and medical examiners miss blood clots, including DVT (deep vein thrombosis) and PE (pulmonary embolism), in young and athletic people even if they have the symptoms because “healthcare providers often do not consider blood clots something that affects athletes. Blood clots are uncommon in young, healthy individuals – and most athletes are young and healthy. So, for that reason, DVT, PE, and arterial clots in athletes are not the norm.” (Athletes). The medical examiners assume the pain in the leg is just “muscle tears” or “shin splints” but don’t think of it a PE because it just isn’t common in young and especially healthy, active people. Many medical examiners have diagnosed the young, athletic people with pneumonia, as some symptoms are alike to a pulmonary embolism, and makes it confusing.
While being athletic and in contact sports, many injuries can be brought up from games and other activities, but can these injuries cause a blood clot? The answer is yes they can, because blood naturally clots to stop bleeding, but not only that it may cause thrombosis in the blood vessels, which then can lead to a pulmonary embolism in a person (Joshi). This makes it important to take any sports injury seriously even if minor. Any sports injury can lead to this, like in soccer a kick to the leg can eventually lead to thrombosis, if not taken care of properly. “A 2008 study revealed even minor leg injuries -- ones that don't need a cast or bed rest-- can raise your odds of having DVT. Researchers found as many as 1 in 13 blood clots may be caused by small problems, such as muscle tears or ankle sprains” (Beckerman). Not many athletes notice this, but then being aware of the symptoms of a thrombosis can stop a pulmonary embolism from happening.
Earlier it was mentioned that pneumonia was confused with a pulmonary embolism for younger individuals and this brings out questions on how it is mistaken? One main symptom of pneumonia is tight chest pain, which is also a symptom of a pulmonary embolism, and also things like a rapid heart rate and feeling tired. The medical examiners can confuse these things because most don’t think young and active people can get blood clots. “Considering the popular associations between VTE and inactivity, athletes might be at greater risk of a missed diagnosis quite simply because their cardiovascular conditioning presents as the polar opposite to standard assessment criteria” (Hull). Also the US pharmacist states that “It is not uncommon for symptoms of PE to be confused with those of myocardial infarction (MI) or pneumonia. In fact, PE is the most serious condition that is misdiagnosed as pneumonia” (Zagaria). This shows that maybe the medical examiners need to be more informed on this issue, of a pulmonary embolism, that is most often confused with other problems that are not as life threatening.
Thinking about dietary habits, some may increase the risk of blood clots that then lead to a pulmonary embolism. “Consuming too much choline, a nutrient sold in over-the-counter dietary supplements, can boost the risk for blood clots, researchers warn. That’s because bacteria in the intestines interact with choline to produce a compound that encourages platelets to clump together and form clots” (reuters.com). Choline is also found in lots of different meats, eggs and milk, but these foods usually just have long term effects if constantly consumed throughout a person’s life.
Health problems like asthma relate to a pulmonary embolism. Recent research from a 2012 study saw that “people with moderate or severe asthma had an increased risk of developing deep vein thrombosis, or pulmonary embolism” (Asthmatics). The results from the study brought that most people with asthma are nine times more likely to get a pulmonary embolism than people without asthma. Accordingly to European Lung Foundation, Dr. Christof Majoor states that, "this is the first time a link has been found between asthma and pulmonary embolism and we believe these results have important clinical implications. Our findings suggest that people with severe asthma have an increased risk of pulmonary embolism and doctors should increase their awareness of the possibility of this occurrence in order to help prevent this serious event" (Asthmatics). These findings are showing the raising awareness of pulmonary embolism in young people. That it is a serious issue and needs to be known to any medical examiners to take extra tests on patients with asthma.
The biggest problem today is that many are unsure what the main cause of a pulmonary embolism is in young, healthy, and athletic individuals. Right now medical examiners are not well informed on this issue with young people because it seems uncommon to occur. Raising awareness of pulmonary embolisms in young people will bring attention to the topic and may just save the life of someone. Noticing the symptoms and then recognizing that it really can happen to anyone of any age will help doctors or patients stop a blood clot before it’s too late. Even the smallest pain in a person’s leg may be extremely life threatening.
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REFRENCES
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“Asthmatics at Increased Risk of Pulmonary Embolism.” ScienceDaily, European Lung Foundation, 20 Dec. 2012, www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/12/121219223229.htm.
“Athletes and Blood Clots.” Blood Clots, National Blood Clot Alliance , www.stoptheclot.org/about-clots/athletes-and-blood-clots/.
Beckerman, James. “When Hurting Your Leg Can Lead to Blood Clots.” WebMD, 5 July 2017, www.webmd.com/dvt/blood-clots-minor-leg-injury#1.
Boggs, Will. “Diet and Gut Bacteria Linked with Blood Clots.” Reuters, 24 Apr. 2017, www.reuters.com/article/us-health-diet-blood-clots-idUSKBN17Q274.
Hull, Claire M., and Julia A. Harris. “Venous Thromboembolism in Physically Active People: Considerations for Risk Assessment, Mainstream Awareness and Future Research.” SpringerLink, Springer International Publishing, 17 July 2015, link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40279-015-0360-5.
“Inherited Causes of Blood Clots.” Indiana Hemophilia & Thrombosis Center, www.ihtc.org/pulmonary-embolism/.
Joshi, Priya. “Beware of Your Sports!” North American Thrombosis Forum, 7 Sept. 2017, natfonline.org/2016/09/beware-of-your-sports/.
Khatri, Minesh. “Pulmonary Embolism (PE) Symptoms & Warning Signs.” WebMD, 24 Dec. 2018, www.webmd.com/lung/pulmonary-embolism-symptoms.
Zagaria, Mary Ann E. “Raising Awareness About Pulmonary Embolism.” U.S. Pharmacist, Jobson Medical, 20 July 2009, www.uspharmacist.com/article/raising-awareness-about-pulmonary-embolism.