Don't rely on luck and St. Pat for good health

Bonnie Bernstein survived a blood clot. She had no idea that she was experiencing symptoms of DVT. “After all, I’ve worked out my entire life, eat well, rarely drink alcohol, and don’t smoke,” she wrote.

But David Bloom, NBC news correspondent, wasn’t so lucky.

He died in Iraq in the “sand-blown heat of war.”

But he didn’t lose his life to a bullet or a bomb, but to a blood clot, his wife Melanie Bloom wrote in The Huffington Post.

Every year, 2 million Americans are affected by DVT of a blood clot, known as Deep Vein Thrombosis.

March is the seventh annual Deep-Vein Thrombosis (DVT) Awareness Month.

The Coalition to Prevent DVT is urging everyone to get moving to avoid DVT. You may think DVT only strikes people who are crammed into economy class. That was my view after seeing warnings on many Qantas flights from LA to Sydney and back.

But the consortium says blood clots strike people:

• at the office
• in bed, whether hospital or at home
• in Assisted-Living or Rehabilitation facilities, and
• during travel.

DVT occurs when muscles of the legs are inactive, allowing blood to collect in the lower extremities.

Working with Mary Ann Wilson, RN, founder and host of PBS program “Sit and Be Fit,” the Coalition has developed an educational video that features simple, low impact movements to increase blood circulation.

Visit www.preventdvt.org to take a look.

You can also hear National Spokesperson, Melanie Bloom talk about the loss of her husband, David Bloom from complications of DVT while covering the war in Iraq.

To watch a special iPSA from Melanie Bloom, speaking of the importance of DVT Awareness, please visit: www.westglen.com/online/dvt_awareness_motion.htm

What can you do? Stand up now and stretch, and prod your colleague in the next cubicle to do the same. I’ll be doing my stretches tonight as I fly to Paris.

Did I say PARIS? Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

A bientot!

Photo: Cygnus921′s photostream on Flickr.

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