Key Points:
- Each year, some 100,000 people die from complications of a blood clot, including heart attack or a stroke.
- Black Americans are particularly at risk, with up to a 60% higher incidence of blood clots, and mortality from them, than white people.
- The condition remains a leading cause of Black maternal mortality in this country.
Bob Tutt was a kind and giving man. This is a man who for his 75th birthday, took the time to drive 90-year-old friends from Wichita to Omaha so they could relocate to assisted living near their son.
The other thing about Bob is that he was extremely healthy. He took no prescribed medications, something that’s almost miraculous for a Black man of his age. So it was an optional outpatient surgery for an enlarged prostate – a not surprising condition for his age – that was the start of a spiral that would find this otherwise healthy man dead just 16 days later.
Bob died of a blood clot that formed after his surgery.
Bob had a lot of things working against him. He was Black, he had a family history of blood clots and after his surgery, and according to his wife Vicky Howard, he relaxed at home watching television for a couple of days after the surgery instead of getting up and moving around.
On his one-week post op followup to his doctor, he mentioned a soreness in his leg, but speculated it might be the result of gym workout on Christmas eve. The next morning, he was experiencing a shortness of breath, a typical symptom of blood clots. Vicki – who is a retired RN – insisted on calling the paramedics for what would start 10 days of work to treat the clot, but failed.
About Blood Clots
Blood clotting is a normal bodily process that helps prevent excessive bleeding from an injury or cut. However, sometimes blood clots can form abnormally for other reasons. This prevents normal blood flow and can cause serious and sometimes life-threatening medical issues.
A venous blood clot is a semi-solid or gel-like collection of blood that can form inside a vein.
Bob had a deep vein thrombosis (DVT). It’s a blood clot that occurs in a deep vein, most often in the leg or arm.
Another kind of blood clot is a Pulmonary embolism (PE): A blood clot that started elsewhere in the body, usually a DVT, that breaks free and becomes lodged in the lungs. This is a very serious and life-threatening condition. It’s believed Bob’s clot broke off and ended up in his lungs or brain, killing him almost immediately.
Symptoms of DVT include:
- Leg pain or tenderness often described as a cramp or charley horse
- Reddish or bluish skin discoloration
- Leg (or arm) warm to touch
Symptoms of a PE include:
- Sudden shortness of breath
- Unexplained cough, sometimes with bloody mucus
- Chest pain that’s sharp and stabbing; may get worse with deep breath
- Rapid heart rate
Call an ambulance or 9-1-1 immediately if you experience these PE symptoms.
Black People Are at Higher Risk
Each year, an estimated 100,000 people die from complications from a blood clot, including heart attack or a stroke. An additional 900,000 people who survive blood clots face long-term health complications, including paralysis or brain damage.
Black Americans are particularly at risk: we have up to a 60% higher incidence of blood clots, and mortality from them, than white people. The condition remains a leading cause of Black maternal mortality in this country.
Why are Black People at a Higher Risk for Blood Clots?
There are a number of factors that put African Americans at higher risk.
Family history/genetics and Bob had a family history of it. His father died of a blood clot, his mother and one sister died of strokes, which are blood clots to the brain. He has three other sisters, all of whom are in their late 70s or 80s who have had strokes, but survived.
Certain diseases that primarily affect people of African ancestry, including sickle cell disease, increase the blood clot risk. Sickle cell disease is an inherited blood disorder that causes healthy red blood cells to become sickle or crescent-shaped. These cells reduce blood flow, causing pain and life-threatening health conditions, including blood clots.
Some other conditions that make Black people more prone to blood clots include:
Chronic health conditions. Black people who have blood clots tend to be more likely than Whites to also have chronic health problems like high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity, or chronic kidney disease, which can lead to blood clots.
Structural racism. Black Americans may be less likely to receive life-saving treatments for blood clots and less likely to be admitted to the hospital in a more serious condition than White people.
This wasn’t the case for Bob, when he went to the hospital he was treated with heparin, a blood thinner, but the thinners were keeping his surgery wound from healing, so they stopped that process and eventually installed a filter designed to catch a blood clot that might break loose to keep it from going to the heart, lungs or brain. Why this didn’t work for Bob, we’re not sure, but it may have been there was a clot already above where the filter was installed that made its way to one of the vital organs.
Smoking/secondhand smoke. Black populations have similar rates of smoking as other racial and ethnic groups, but they’re more likely to die from tobacco-related causes. Black people have higher rates of exposure to secondhand smoke, including Black children.
Surgery. Having surgery, including C-sections, increases your risk of a blood clot. Among U.S. adults, Black people have the highest risk of a DVT after they’ve had surgery, followed by White people, Hispanics, and Asian Americans.
What Can You Do to Prevent Blood Clots?
- Know your risk for blood clots.
- Recognize the signs and symptoms of blood clots.
- Tell your doctor if you have any risk factors for blood clots.
- Before any surgery, talk with your doctor about the plan to prevent blood clots.
- Seek medical attention immediately if you have any symptoms of a blood clot.
Other steps you can take to reduce your risk for blood clots
- Know your family history. Tell your doctor and other family members if you learn that there is a history of blood clots among your relatives.
- If you are confined to a bed in a hospital or at home for any reason, ask your doctor what options exist to prevent blood clots.
- Get up and move if you’ve been sitting for a long time or traveling for a long time by plane, train, or car. Stand up, walk around, and stretch your legs every two to three hours.
- Maintain a healthy weight.
- Don’t smoke. Smoking reduces blood flow and increases your blood clot risk.
Source: National Blood Clot Alliance stoptheclot.org
