Jessie's tragic death came from the suddenness of a pulmonary embolism. Before her, I had never heard of it, nor its cause, deep-vein thrombosis. I post this description here to spread the word about this preventable killer, hoping that this will help save another's precious life.
Deep-vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE) together
compromise one of the nation's leading causes of death. More people die in the United States from PE than breast cancer and AIDS combined and, according to the American Heart Association, up to 2 million Americans are affected annually by DVT.
DVT occurs
when a blood clot forms in a deep vein, usually in the lower limbs. A
complication of DVT, pulmonary embolism, can occur when a fragment of a
blood clot breaks loose from the wall of the vein and migrates to the
lungs, where it blocks a pulmonary artery or one of its branches. Of those who develop PE, up to 200,000 will die each year.
For more information, please visit www.preventdvt.org.