Blood clots – Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT) or Pulmonary Embolism (PE) cause more than 100,000 deaths in the United States every year (per the National Blood Clot Alliance). These deaths include men, women and children — and sadly these numbers continue to grow. The good news is that many blood clot-caused deaths can be prevented.  The bad news is more awareness still needs to be raised about this often silent killer. With Blood Clot Awareness Month not far behind us, it seems like blood clots have been in the news much more recently, and for that I am grateful. I hope we can keep the momentum going as we continue talking about and raising awareness about this important and virtually unheard of public health concern.

Explore the links below for more Blood Clots in the News: 5th Edition

Meredith Vieira’s husband describes ‘touch and go’ health scare

The husband of former TODAY anchor Meredith Vieira said doctors pulled him “back from the brink” over the weekend after treating him for a blood clot in his lungs.

In a blog post Tuesday titled “Crisis,” veteran news producer Richard Cohen described how a badly swollen foot and a series of tests led doctors to discover a large blood clot in his leg. Additional scans revealed a piece of the clot had broken off and “perched on a blood vessel close to my heart.” [Read More]

Study of Drug for Blood Clots Caused a Stir, Records Show

The makers of the blood-thinning drug Pradaxa were so worried that an internal research paper would damage drug sales that some employees not only pressured the author to revise it, but suggested it should be quashed altogether, according to newly unsealed legal documents.

The documents were made public last week by a federal judge in Illinois who is overseeing thousands of lawsuits filed by patients and their families, who say that Pradaxa’s manufacturer, the German company Boehringer Ingelheim, failed to properly warn them about the risks of taking the drug. [Read More]

Risk of Serious Blood Clots Extends to 12 Weeks After Childbirth Researchers Find Risk Lasts Twice as Long as Previously Thought

 Mothers remain at risk of developing a serious blood clot for 12 weeks after giving birth, rather than six weeks as previously thought, say a team of researchers in a study published online today in the New England Journal of Medicine.

While development of blood clots after childbirth is very uncommon, physicians should know that they can occur up to 12 weeks after delivery, and future studies are needed to see if some women will benefit from extended therapy to prevent such complications…[Read More]

Danger in the Ring

When 24-year-old Erika Langhart—talented, beautiful, bound for law school—died on Thanksgiving Day 2011, she became one of thousands of suspected victims of the birth-control device NuvaRing. Elite army athlete Megan Henry, who survived rampant blood clots in her 20s, is another. With major suits against NuvaRing’s manufacturer, Merck, headed for trial, Marie Brenner asks why, despite evidence of serious risk, a potentially lethal contraceptive remains on the market. [Read More]

Buffalo Grove grad found near ISU campus died from blood clot

A 20-year-old Buffalo Grove High School graduate found unresponsive Saturday in her apartment near Illinois State University died from a blood clot in her pulmonary artery, according to an autopsy…[Read More]

Share your story. Have you noticed blood clots in the news lately? Have you heard of any more stories not listed above?

There is hope for healing and you are not alone,