Can Athletes Get Blood Clots?
By Cindy Asbjornsen, DO, FACPh T
ennis superstar Serena Williams. Olympic speed skater Rebekah Bradford. Miami Heat center Chris Bosh. What do these sports pros have in common? All have suffered from blood clots in their lungs that originated in their deep vein systems.
The deep vein system carries about 80% of blood from the
feet back up to the heart. Deep veins are located under the muscle and connective tissue layers in the legs. A blood clot in a deep vein – known as deep vein thrombosis, or DVT – can be danger- ous because the high pressure in the system could cause the clot to break free from the vein wall and enter the blood stream. The DVT could then travel up through the legs into another part of the body such as the lungs, where it would become a pulmonary embolism (PE).
Most people, including some healthcare providers, think that blood clots are a problem that occurs in the elderly, not in healthy, often young, athletes. However, in some cases, athletes may be at a greater risk for DVT than others.
Athletes, coaches, and trainers should be aware of these risk factors:
• Traveling long distances to and from a sports competition • Dehydration (during and after a strenuous sporting event) • Signifi cant trauma • Immobilization (in a brace or cast) • Bone fracture or major surgery • Family history of DVT or PE
• Presence of an inherited or acquired clotting disorder Additionally, athletes, coaches, and trainers need to consider
how these risk factors can compound to increase the likelihood of a clot. For example, athletes often travel long distances to get to and from a competitive event. Traveling long distances in a car, bus, or on an airplane can result in some immobilization that results in poor circulation, plus could follow events where the ath- lete may have become dehydrated or experienced some traumatic injury. It is important to note that having multiple risk factors does not mean that you will defi nitely get a blood clot, it just means you are at a higher risk.
Stopping blood clots in their tracks DVT or PE symptoms are often misinterpreted as something
less serious. A blood clot in the leg may feel like a “Charlie horse,” shin splints, or a twisted ankle. Symptoms from PE are often attrib- uted to a pulled muscle in the chest, costochondritis (infl ammation of the joint between ribs and breast bone), asthma, or a “touch of pneumonia.”
So what are some of the signs that athletes should look for?
For DVT, the leg may be warm to the touch; swelling in the leg (can also occur in the arm, especially in weightlifters, gymnasts, and rowers); leg (or arm) pain or tenderness; reddish or bluish skin discoloration.
14 Essential Living Maine ~ July/August 2017
Combined risk factors Being active and fi t does not prevent someone from develop- ing blood clots. There are a number of risk factors that are not uncommon among athletes, including trauma, bone fractures, major surgery, and immobilization with a brace or a cast following a traumatic injury.
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