classic33
Leg End Member
What cyclists should know.
"On November 17, 2006, Mike Friedman (Optum-Kelly Benefit Strategies), 24, felt an excruciating pain rip through his torso. “I’ve never been so short of breath,” he said. “It was like a dull knife ripping apart my chest.” In the middle of watching the movie “Cars,” he turned to his date and said, “We need to get to a hospital. I think I’m having a heart attack.”
Forty minutes later, Friedman was under evaluation at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, not for a heart attack, but for a pulmonary embolism, a potentially lethal blood clot in his lung.
Pulmonary emboli (PE) are silent killers. Often with little prior warning, nearly 300,000 people are killed every year by blood clots which lodge in their lungs (Kahanov and Daly, 2009). There is no greater cause of sudden death in the healthy population than a pulmonary embolism (Goldhaber, 2004).
First, a clot called a deep vein thrombosis (DVT) forms, often in the calf. The DVT travels from the veins to the right side of the heart which pumps the clot to the lungs. Untreated, this blocks blood flow to the lungs and can ultimately cause cardiac arrest. In total, over 900,000 people are stricken with pulmonary emboli every year. Many of those hit are otherwise healthy athletic people. (Andersen et al, 1991)."
"What are the warning signs that should alert you to seek immediate evaluation?
1) Shortness of breath — typically appears suddenly and always gets worse with exertion.
2) Chest pain — Not only “heart attack pain,” but pain when you draw deep breaths, cough, or bend at the waist. It does not go away.
3) Cough — especially bloody sputum.
4) Leg pain and/or swelling — usually in the calf. This is a tough one for cyclists. Our calves always ache. One-sided swelling is a tipoff. Friedman’s was only in his right calf below the knee.
5) Clammy and/or discolored skin — Friedman’s leg took on a reddish hue.
6) Irregular heartbeat.
7) Anxiety, lightheadedness, and/or dizziness.
If you’ve got two or more of these symptoms, it’s time to get evaluated immediately. Untreated, 30 percent of acute PEs result in death (Horlander K.T., et al). Once at the hospital, several tests are commonly used to diagnose a DVT/PE episode."
"On November 17, 2006, Mike Friedman (Optum-Kelly Benefit Strategies), 24, felt an excruciating pain rip through his torso. “I’ve never been so short of breath,” he said. “It was like a dull knife ripping apart my chest.” In the middle of watching the movie “Cars,” he turned to his date and said, “We need to get to a hospital. I think I’m having a heart attack.”
Forty minutes later, Friedman was under evaluation at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, not for a heart attack, but for a pulmonary embolism, a potentially lethal blood clot in his lung.
Pulmonary emboli (PE) are silent killers. Often with little prior warning, nearly 300,000 people are killed every year by blood clots which lodge in their lungs (Kahanov and Daly, 2009). There is no greater cause of sudden death in the healthy population than a pulmonary embolism (Goldhaber, 2004).
First, a clot called a deep vein thrombosis (DVT) forms, often in the calf. The DVT travels from the veins to the right side of the heart which pumps the clot to the lungs. Untreated, this blocks blood flow to the lungs and can ultimately cause cardiac arrest. In total, over 900,000 people are stricken with pulmonary emboli every year. Many of those hit are otherwise healthy athletic people. (Andersen et al, 1991)."
"What are the warning signs that should alert you to seek immediate evaluation?
1) Shortness of breath — typically appears suddenly and always gets worse with exertion.
2) Chest pain — Not only “heart attack pain,” but pain when you draw deep breaths, cough, or bend at the waist. It does not go away.
3) Cough — especially bloody sputum.
4) Leg pain and/or swelling — usually in the calf. This is a tough one for cyclists. Our calves always ache. One-sided swelling is a tipoff. Friedman’s was only in his right calf below the knee.
5) Clammy and/or discolored skin — Friedman’s leg took on a reddish hue.
6) Irregular heartbeat.
7) Anxiety, lightheadedness, and/or dizziness.
If you’ve got two or more of these symptoms, it’s time to get evaluated immediately. Untreated, 30 percent of acute PEs result in death (Horlander K.T., et al). Once at the hospital, several tests are commonly used to diagnose a DVT/PE episode."
