If your chest feels tight, your breathing is shallow or you have cold chills, you may have a blood clot, and getting to a doctor quickly could save your life. If your doctor ignores your concerns, seek help somewhere else and then get a new primary care physician.
Some of the risk factors for getting a blood clot are frequent, long-distance flying, certain kinds of prescription medicine, sitting for long periods, deep sea diving and a recent foot injury. It is estimated that pulmonary blood clots kill 1 out of 10 people during the first hour of their symptoms and another 26 percent shortly after that.
If you have any of these symptoms, it might be a good idea to get tested for the presence of the Factor V Leiden gene. If this is positive, it indicates that you are 8 times more likely to develop a blood clot than someone without the mutation. Genetic testing has been criticized in the past because of its expense and the fact that the presence of the abnormal genes doesn’t always result in illness. Genetic testing kits are available to those who are interested. For more on the pros and cons: www.genome.gov/19516567.
If genetic abnormalities are found, doctors can work with you to on a lifestyle that will prevent a dangerous situation. Each year, about 2 million Americans suffer from deep vein thrombosis. There are about 300,000 deaths from pulmonary blood clots each year. If the Factor V Leiden gene is found, there are precautions that can be taken, such as taking blood thinners like Lovenox before flying or with a foot injury and not taking medicines that can cause clotting.
Blood clots caused by deep vein thrombosis cause more people to die than breast cancer and AIDS combined. It is the most common cause of preventable hospital death. The acting Surgeon General, Steven Galson, has recently issued a call to action to reduce DVT blood clots and their complications, because DVT and blood clots are so common.