DVT blood clot, PE threat to pilots
01-01-2012, 04:37 AM
#1
Gets Weekends Off
Thread Starter
Joined APC: Oct 2009
Position: Delta M88 A ATL
Posts: 383
DVT blood clot, PE threat to pilots
This is from another forum discussion. As Pilots we are very prone to forming a DVT:
The Los Angeles County Coroner said deep leg vein thrombosis led to the pulmonary embolism that took the life of the 344-pound entertainer at age 44 last month.
"Yes, (the flight) is the connection. He had reportedly been in London for about six weeks and had returned to LA within the preceding week or so," Craig Harvey, chief coroner investigator, told the Daily News.
Investigators said medications the rapper was taking did not contribute to his collapse outside his Beverly Hills condominium building Nov. 9.
A coroner’s spokesman earlier told The News that Heavy D, whose real name was Dwight Arrington Myers, visited a doctor the day before he died, complaining of flu-like symptoms.
A cousin said Heavy D thought he had "a touch of pneumonia" after his travels in England.
The "Now That We Found Love" singer was conscious and talking to first responders but experiencing difficulty breathing when he was rushed to a hospital the day he died.
Raised in Mount Vernon, N.Y., Heavy D rose to stardom in the 1990s as the frontman for Heavy D & the Boys — the group behind a string of hits including "Nuttin But Love."
He also performed the theme song for the 1990s comedy TV series "In Living Color," and took the stage most recently at the BET Awards last fall.
Heavy D eventually segued into acting and scored a cameo role as a security guard in the recently released film "Tower Heist," starring Eddie Murphy and Ben Stiller.
"Hev had great love for his family and friends; he was a kind and giving spirit who extended and shared himself with everyone who crossed his path," his grieving family said in a statement before his burial.
They said his "most important triumph" was as a father to his 13-year-old daughter Xea.
"Hev's love for his daughter Xea was profound. She was the center of his life, his heart, his soul," they said. "She embodied every phenomenal attribute that he brought to this world."
Rap mogul Sean (P. Diddy) Combs and the Rev. Al Sharpton attended his private memorial service.
"He was a wonderful human being, who inspired and paved the way for a hip-hop generation," Combs said in a statement.
LOS ANGELES — Hip-hop pioneer Heavy D died from a blood clot in his leg that traveled to his lungs after a long flight from Europe, officials said Tuesday.
The Los Angeles County Coroner said deep leg vein thrombosis led to the pulmonary embolism that took the life of the 344-pound entertainer at age 44 last month.
"Yes, (the flight) is the connection. He had reportedly been in London for about six weeks and had returned to LA within the preceding week or so," Craig Harvey, chief coroner investigator, told the Daily News.
Investigators said medications the rapper was taking did not contribute to his collapse outside his Beverly Hills condominium building Nov. 9.
A coroner’s spokesman earlier told The News that Heavy D, whose real name was Dwight Arrington Myers, visited a doctor the day before he died, complaining of flu-like symptoms.
A cousin said Heavy D thought he had "a touch of pneumonia" after his travels in England.
The "Now That We Found Love" singer was conscious and talking to first responders but experiencing difficulty breathing when he was rushed to a hospital the day he died.
Raised in Mount Vernon, N.Y., Heavy D rose to stardom in the 1990s as the frontman for Heavy D & the Boys — the group behind a string of hits including "Nuttin But Love."
He also performed the theme song for the 1990s comedy TV series "In Living Color," and took the stage most recently at the BET Awards last fall.
Heavy D eventually segued into acting and scored a cameo role as a security guard in the recently released film "Tower Heist," starring Eddie Murphy and Ben Stiller.
"Hev had great love for his family and friends; he was a kind and giving spirit who extended and shared himself with everyone who crossed his path," his grieving family said in a statement before his burial.
They said his "most important triumph" was as a father to his 13-year-old daughter Xea.
"Hev's love for his daughter Xea was profound. She was the center of his life, his heart, his soul," they said. "She embodied every phenomenal attribute that he brought to this world."
Rap mogul Sean (P. Diddy) Combs and the Rev. Al Sharpton attended his private memorial service.
"He was a wonderful human being, who inspired and paved the way for a hip-hop generation," Combs said in a statement.
01-01-2012, 04:39 AM
#2
Gets Weekends Off
Thread Starter
Joined APC: Oct 2009
Position: Delta M88 A ATL
Posts: 383
This past May,on my way to Columbus for a layover, I leaned back to stretch in the cockpit and felt some discomfort taking a deep breath, similar to the feeling you get with a chest cold. The feeling continued during the night and the next day, walking to the gate for an aircraft swap. the pain intensified in my chest and I quickly became fatigued. Getting ready to depart to Miami, the pain continued to intensify and when my breathing became labored, I pulled myself off the trip.
I asked CP if he could get me a pos space pass to my home in MLB. I called my wife, and she was adamant about me seeing a doctor before flying anywhere. CP offered to take me to the ER. I declined, thinking that I was getting a chest cold, so CP took me to the ATL terminal Doc, yes there is one... That Doc took a chest xray and told me he saw a spot in my left lung, which could be pneumonia, plurosy, or possibly an embolism. I explained to him that the previous day I had been laying a floor down in my attic. He then said I had probably pulled a muscle. He gave me a shot for the pain, a prescription for a painkiller (percoset), and released me to fly home with the instruction that if the pain got worse during the night, I should go to the ER. This was at four in the afternoon, and I finally caught a flight home to MLB at 830PM.
I never called my wife after seeing the doctor, and had just told her to pick me up at 1030 pm. She did, and it was then I told her what the Atlanta doctor had said. She brought me home and put me to bed. She went to Walgreens to fill the Rx, realized it was a script for pain, and asked the pharmacist how could we tell if the pain was getting worse if I was taking painkillers.She told the pharmacist what the ATL doc had said. He told her if the doc even mentioned the possibility of an embolism, I should be in the ER. She picked me up and When we got to the hospital, they took an x-ray, and a cat scan, and diagnosed me with pneumonia, said I could go home, but recommended I stay for observation. I did, and in the morning a pulmonologist came in the room and explained I did not have pneumonia, rather I had a pulmonary embolism in my left lung.
During my 10 day stay in the hospital, I too also found out that I have the Leiden Factor V genetic mutation.The Docs performed many cat scans, doppler scans, & heart scans looking for the "trigger" that caused the clot. Pancreatic cancer is the one of the "triggers" for those with Factor V Leiden. After all tests came back negative, the conclusion was that my trigger was two broken toes in my left foot which had occurred 3 weeks before when I dropped a laptop on my foot. The clot traveled from my bruised left foot, and coupled with dehydration and prolonged periods of sitting without getting up at high altitudes, made for the perfect storm for an embolism to occur.
I too am in good shape so I thought, running about 9 miles per week. This can happen to anyone. Especially those of us of European descent, who may have the Leiden Factor V genetic predisposition to forming a clot.
The signs were all there . . . take note: chest pain and shortness of breath. The specialists explained to me that pulmonary embolisms are a result of a clot that forms in the lower extremeties that travel to the lungs. This can be the result of a simple injury to the foot or leg. If the clot is large enough to block the pulmonary artery, you can literally drop dead. Thankfully my clot was not that large - yet. Beware of the signs. I was out of work for 2 and a half months, had 2 doctors in the hospital tell me my career was over. Thankfully I had some great doctors that worked with me and the FAA to receive a waiver to fly. I was on blood thinners for 7 months, and received the good news yesterday that I can come off the blood thinners, and will now be on a regimen of one baby aspirin a day.
Hopefully, all of these stories may help someone. I should have gone to the ER in Atlanta. I was lucky.
I asked CP if he could get me a pos space pass to my home in MLB. I called my wife, and she was adamant about me seeing a doctor before flying anywhere. CP offered to take me to the ER. I declined, thinking that I was getting a chest cold, so CP took me to the ATL terminal Doc, yes there is one... That Doc took a chest xray and told me he saw a spot in my left lung, which could be pneumonia, plurosy, or possibly an embolism. I explained to him that the previous day I had been laying a floor down in my attic. He then said I had probably pulled a muscle. He gave me a shot for the pain, a prescription for a painkiller (percoset), and released me to fly home with the instruction that if the pain got worse during the night, I should go to the ER. This was at four in the afternoon, and I finally caught a flight home to MLB at 830PM.
I never called my wife after seeing the doctor, and had just told her to pick me up at 1030 pm. She did, and it was then I told her what the Atlanta doctor had said. She brought me home and put me to bed. She went to Walgreens to fill the Rx, realized it was a script for pain, and asked the pharmacist how could we tell if the pain was getting worse if I was taking painkillers.She told the pharmacist what the ATL doc had said. He told her if the doc even mentioned the possibility of an embolism, I should be in the ER. She picked me up and When we got to the hospital, they took an x-ray, and a cat scan, and diagnosed me with pneumonia, said I could go home, but recommended I stay for observation. I did, and in the morning a pulmonologist came in the room and explained I did not have pneumonia, rather I had a pulmonary embolism in my left lung.
During my 10 day stay in the hospital, I too also found out that I have the Leiden Factor V genetic mutation.The Docs performed many cat scans, doppler scans, & heart scans looking for the "trigger" that caused the clot. Pancreatic cancer is the one of the "triggers" for those with Factor V Leiden. After all tests came back negative, the conclusion was that my trigger was two broken toes in my left foot which had occurred 3 weeks before when I dropped a laptop on my foot. The clot traveled from my bruised left foot, and coupled with dehydration and prolonged periods of sitting without getting up at high altitudes, made for the perfect storm for an embolism to occur.
I too am in good shape so I thought, running about 9 miles per week. This can happen to anyone. Especially those of us of European descent, who may have the Leiden Factor V genetic predisposition to forming a clot.
The signs were all there . . . take note: chest pain and shortness of breath. The specialists explained to me that pulmonary embolisms are a result of a clot that forms in the lower extremeties that travel to the lungs. This can be the result of a simple injury to the foot or leg. If the clot is large enough to block the pulmonary artery, you can literally drop dead. Thankfully my clot was not that large - yet. Beware of the signs. I was out of work for 2 and a half months, had 2 doctors in the hospital tell me my career was over. Thankfully I had some great doctors that worked with me and the FAA to receive a waiver to fly. I was on blood thinners for 7 months, and received the good news yesterday that I can come off the blood thinners, and will now be on a regimen of one baby aspirin a day.
Hopefully, all of these stories may help someone. I should have gone to the ER in Atlanta. I was lucky.
01-01-2012, 05:45 AM
#4
Moderator
Joined APC: Oct 2006
Position: B757/767
Posts: 13,088
nerd2009,
Really happy to hear it all worked our for you. That's scary indeed, & your story will stick in my mind. DVT is a serious threat to all of us in the pilot profession.
A Happy New Year for you indeed!
Really happy to hear it all worked our for you. That's scary indeed, & your story will stick in my mind. DVT is a serious threat to all of us in the pilot profession.
A Happy New Year for you indeed!
01-01-2012, 09:24 AM
#7
Line Holder
Joined APC: Jun 2008
Position: 737-4/7/8/900
Posts: 34
Originally Posted by dragon
NERD2009,
Thanks for sharing. Our FA last night lectured us on the dangers and was very proactive to make sure we took breaks on our transcon.
Happy New Year
Thanks for sharing. Our FA last night lectured us on the dangers and was very proactive to make sure we took breaks on our transcon.
Happy New Year
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