A mother who recently gave birth to triplets has passed away. According to news reports the mother had a pregnancy which did not seem to have any problems.
After carrying her babies for 34 weeks she gave birth to three healthy babies. It was after giving birth that the mother began to have problems.
It was reported that about a week after giving birth she began to have chest pains, which lead her to the emergency room. Once at the hospital a CT scan was done and it revealed blood in her lungs.
The hospital staff treated her and she was eventually released back home. For a couple of days everything seemed to be going fine with her. Doctors think that a second blood clot developed and caused her death.
Deep vein thrombosis (“DVT”) is a serious medical condition in which a blood clot forms deep inside of a vein. The development of these types of clots usually are found in the lower extremities in areas such as the lower leg, the thigh, or the pelvis. Blood clots can also occur in the arm as well.
Complications occur when the blood clot breaks off into the blood. The clot can then be carried into the lungs, causing serious medical problems. When the clot is located in the lungs it is then called a pulmonary embolism (“PE”).
Patients can sometimes recover from a PE if it is small and appropriate medical treatment is given. On the other hand, if the PE is large it can block blood from getting to the lungs and this can lead to serious injury and in some cases death.
Some of the risk factors for DVT are injury to a vein through a fracture, serious muscle injury, or a surgery. Risk factors also include an increase in the level of estrogen caused by birth control pills, hormone replacement therapy, and pregnancy up to six weeks following giving birth.
If you think that you may be developing DVT speak to a medical professional as soon as possible.
The article in support of this post can be found HERE.
