Seven-time NBA All-Star Damian Lillard, 34, not too long ago joined a rising checklist of NBA athletes to be sidelined by a prognosis of deep-vein thrombosis, or DVT.
The Milwaukee Bucks participant joins Victor Wembanyama, 21, a rising star within the NBA who was recognized with the life-threatening situation earlier this season, together with Chris Bosh and Brandon Ingram, who had been additionally sidelined with DVT throughout their careers.
DVT in athletes
DVT is brought on by blood clots within the veins of the arms or legs. The situation is generally related with age, decreased mobility, weight problems, some estrogen-containing medicines and smoking, amongst different elements. Repetitive arm motion above the top, like throwing a basketball, may also improve the danger of DVT.
Sometimes, DVT causes swelling, ache and bruising within the affected limb. DVT by itself just isn’t deadly, however left untreated, it could possibly have severe penalties.
With out remedy, items of blood clots that trigger DVT can break off and journey to the lungs in a situation referred to as pulmonary embolism (PE), which can lead to extreme injury to the lungs. Each DVT and PE are venous thromboembolic ailments, that are the third most typical reason for deaths related to the vascular system after coronary heart assault and stroke.
Tennis celebrity Serena Williams developed PE twice. Like many individuals who develop it, she had hassle respiration, shortness of breath and chest ache.
Though it is perhaps scary to be recognized with DVT or PE, there are efficient medicines to deal with the circumstances.
My lab’s analysis focuses on figuring out new blood-thinning medication to deal with blood-clotting circumstances like DVT and stroke. Surgical procedure and blood thinners are sometimes mixed to fight DVT and PE by eradicating the unique blood clot and decreasing the possibilities of a brand new clot forming.
Regardless of their identify, blood thinners don’t actually make blood thinner. As an alternative, they make it more durable for blood clots to type. Three normal courses of blood thinners might be prescribed for DVT and PE: vitamin Ok antagonists reminiscent of warfarin, heparin and direct oral anticoagulants.
Regardless of the assistance blood thinners present, they create dangers of their very own, as they will improve the danger of bleeding, as a result of blood clotting is a standard and mandatory physiological course of.
Clot dangers vs. bleeding dangers
Taking blood thinners is like strolling a tightrope. The individual taking the blood thinner is in a relentless state of steadiness between stopping irregular blood clots and extreme bleeding, which is dependent upon the energy of the blood thinner. In the event you lean too far in both route, you would possibly fall off the tightrope, with severe penalties.
The challenges of managing bleeding danger whereas stopping DVT was amplified in the case of Williams. Instantly after delivering her second baby, Williams underwent a PE occasion and was positioned on intravenous heparin. Whereas heparin did stop blood clots, Williams did have important bleeding on the web site of her C-section.
The danger of bleeding typically extends previous the hospital. Sometimes, blood thinners are given to individuals with DVT for months, even years, to forestall ongoing danger of clot formation. The danger of bleeding persists so long as the individual is taking the drug.
Athletes on blood thinners enjoying contact sports activities are extra susceptible to accidents in comparison with others. Gamers generally fall, which is extra prone to trigger doubtlessly life-threatening inner bleeding.
Because of this danger, athletes typically should take to the sidelines to keep away from harm after a DVT prognosis.
Balanced blood thinners
The problem of making balanced blood-thinning medication is of nice curiosity to my lab at McMaster College’s Thrombosis and Atherosclerosis Analysis Institute. A promising candidate for treating clotting issues is ADAMTS13. It is a protein that performs a job within the typical upkeep of blood clots however reveals nice potential as a blood-thinning medicine.
Earlier analysis with this protein has discovered that in acute blood-clotting circumstances reminiscent of ischemic stroke, ADAMTS13 is efficient at breaking up blood clots however doesn’t end in the identical danger of bleeding. Additional testing on the protein in continual circumstances like DVT nonetheless must be carried out, however there’s potential for it to behave as a long-term blood thinner.
The usage of safer blood thinners is not going to solely permit athletes like Lillard and Wembanyama to proceed enjoying their respective sports activities, however will even assist the overall inhabitants.
Roughly seven million new blood-thinner prescriptions for DVT and different circumstances are written annually in Canada, highlighting the necessity for higher therapeutics throughout the board.
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Lethal blood clots, dangerous therapies: The high-stakes battle towards deep vein thrombosis in sports activities and past (2025, Might 13)
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