Most of the people that read my blog know I love to watch ice hockey, and also know that I especially like the Pittsburgh Penguins. Today, the Penguins announced that winger Pascal Dupuis has a a "blot clot in his lung." This is more specifically a pulmonary embolism. A few months ago, I blogged about how American Idol contestant, Michael Johns, lost his life due to a pulmonary embolism.
The Penguins say that Pascal had chest pain and was evaluated and the embolism was found. He apparently had a blood clot in his leg (DVT = deep vein thrombosis) that traveled to his lungs. A DVT in the leg is, in and of itself, not the problem. However, it can cause very painful leg swelling and inflammation. The problem is if that blood clot breaks away and travels to the lungs it can be deadly. Most people would go to the ER if they had trouble breathing, but people need to take sudden painful swelling in the leg just as seriously. Immobilization after injury, as well as being seated for long periods of time (eg, a long airplane trip), can be a couple of the common causes.
Pascal will be unable to play hockey for at least 6 months as he will need to be on anti-coagulants, or blood thinners, for at least that time to prevent further clots. As most of you know, hockey is a contact sport and blunt trauma and blood thinners are not a good combination.
The Penguins say that Pascal should be able to return to hockey. Unfortunately, however, this is his second blood clot. One has to wonder if he would want to risk coming off anti-coagulation as he is obviously prone to developing thrombi in this body. I guess time will tell, but either way, he will have to closely watch for developing symptoms for the rest of his life.
