Mystery blood clots kill U.S. troops

prolog.net ^ | Monday, 06-Oct-2003 8:58PM | United Press International

[Destro]

Mystery blood clots kill U.S. troops Monday

06-Oct-2003 8:58PM

Story from United Press International

Copyright 2003 by United Press International (via ClariNet)

WASHINGTON, Oct. 6 (UPI) -- Several U.S. soldiers in the Iraqi war died from sudden illnesses and a United Press International probe shows those were triggered by unexplained blood clots.

The Pentagon says blood clots caused two soldiers to collapse and die. At least eight other soldiers have also collapsed and died from what the military has described as non-combat-related causes.

NBC reporter David Bloom also died of a blood clot in his lung after collapsing near Baghdad.

The UPI investigation by reporter Mark Benjamin also points to another disturbing factor of soldiers becoming ill or dying from similar ailments in the United States. In some cases, the soldiers, their families and civilian doctors blame vaccines given to them by the military, particularly the anthrax or smallpox shots.

Some of the soldiers who died suddenly had complained about symptoms suffered by Bloom -- including pain in the legs that could indicate problems with blood clots.

The UPI investigation found 17 soldiers who died of sudden illnesses.

"I would say that that number of cases (blood clot deaths) among young healthy troops would seem to be unusual," said Dr. Jeffrey Sartin, an infectious diseases doctor at the Gundersen Clinic in La Crosse, Wis.

[Destro]

Could it also be from sitting prone in a combat vehicle for hours on end? (Like the cases that arise from long plane rides)

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[Paleo Conservative]

Could it also be from sitting prone in a combat vehicle for hours on end? (Like the cases that arise from long plane rides)

Or David Bloom?

[U S Army EOD]

No we did that since WWII plus you don't hear about people dying much from ridding in aircraft or sitting at their desk on a computer.

Something is wrong and they need to look for what these soldiers have in common such as where they have been and what shots they take, etc.

[ntnychik]

We used to have to get smallpox shots to go to Kindergarten, and again to go to college. I don't recall any news of people dying of blood clots from the vaccinations. Then again we didn't have 24/7 panic-stricken news.

[Lijahsbubbe]

If I recall, the heat and dehydration have something to do with the clotting.

[Held_to_Ransom]

Right. Same thing is true of the 12,000 men now dead who served in Desert Storm.....

[cyborg]

I hope this isn't going to be a mystery in the same vein of gulf war syndrome...

[Destro]

Probably unrelated but worth considering: Prolonged sitting in airplanes causing blood clots

[lelio]

Or David Bloom?

I thought he worked himself to death? Long hours in the hot sun without many break.

[Lijahsbubbe]

Thanks. I knew prolonged sitting was involved. Also dehydration which would be due to the heat.

[FormerlyAnotherLurker]

"Dehydration puts your body under greater stress because all your organs start to compete for the limited amount of water circulating in the blood. This in turn increases your blood pressure.

Where did you get your medical training?
That's dead wrong!
Blood pressure FALLS with dehydration.

"Other causes of low blood pressure include the following:

• Dehydration"

FROM:
MEDLINE plus Medical Encyclopedia: Blood Pressure - low
Updated by: Bridget Martell, M.D., Department of Internal Medicine, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York, NY. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.

[FormerlyAnotherLurker]

The correct link for "dehydration" is:

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000982.htm

The other link to the article on low blood pressure works.

[Paleo Conservative]

I thought he worked himself to death? Long hours in the hot sun without many break.

No, it was a blood clot

NBC correspondent David Bloom dies of blood clot while covering Iraq war

[PurVirgo]

I believe you're talking about Deep Veinous Thrombosis - a potentially fatal condition that goes often undetected until too late.

Results from a clump of fat (thrumbus) detaching from an occluded blood vessel, then getting lodged in the lungs, where it becomes an embolus. Thing is, a vessel does not necessarily have to be obstucted to the point where major problems arise.

I believe Olympic Skater Tara Lipinski had problems with it, and she is certainly not a textbook case of bad health.

For some reason, sitting for a long time (like in an airplane or road trip) can dislodge a clot.

[Lijahsbubbe]

Looks like my post was pulled, presumably from no link. Which was my mistake. I can't find it now, but at any rate, look up any article on clotting and dehydration and you will find that dehydration is definitely a contributor, which was my original contention.

If that was incorrect, thanks for the correction.

[FormerlyAnotherLurker]

The high blood pressure caused by dehydration was incorrect. I pointed it out to the moderator and he must have looked at the Medline articles.
Dehydration leads to hypotension not hypertension.

Hope I didn't get sarcastic.

[Lijahsbubbe]

Well that taught me not to post so hastily! LOL.

[FormerlyAnotherLurker]

What? You want to take away my (anal) joy at correcting posts?
How rude!
Some days I live for that.
LOL