Deep Vein Thrombosis.
Our mother, Sheila Braithwaite, flew on a trans Atlantic flight and unfortunately contracted a blood clot during the flight that caused a pulmonary embolism ( A DVT - Deep Vein Thrombosis).
The ironic part was that she was flying from England to America to visit my brother and me to celebrate beating cancer.
It turns out that she could have probably avoided the problem if she had:
- Taken an asprin before she flew.
- Walked around the cabin a few times.
- Worn the special compression socks.
None of us had even heard of DVT before and so we would like to draw attention to the problem.
Why should I be concerned about blood clots?
• Up to one million Americans suffer from blood clots every year, often resulting in hospitalization
• Blood clots are the third most common vascular disease after heart attack and stroke
• More than 100,000 Americans die from PE (Pulmonary Embolism) every year. In most cases of fatal PE, death occurs suddenly with little or no chance for treatment
• Every year, more people die from blood clots than from breast cancer, AIDS, and traffic accidents combined
• Although blood clots are common, few Americans have any knowledge about blood clots and how to prevent them
Learn more at the Vascular Disease Foundation | www.vdf.org