Very widespread, very dangerous yet little known. So much so that, according to a survey conducted by ALT – Association for the Fight against Thrombosis and Cardiovascular Diseases, only one in three Italians know what thrombosis is and even fewer are those who know that it can be prevented. Recognizing the symptoms is instead the first fundamental step to save one’s life, because the numbers make it clear the extent of the danger: it is estimated that every year in Europe people die more from thrombosis than from breast and prostate cancers, road accidents and AIDS combined. But knowing this disease also means being aware that it is possible to reduce the likelihood of suffering from heart attack, stroke, pulmonary embolism and thrombosis of the veins and arteries.
How a thrombotic event occurs
“Knowing thrombosis, knowing what situations are at risk, learning to recognize the alarm bells without underestimating them, changing the modifiable risk factors, means greatly decreasing the probability of a close encounter that is always unpleasant for anyone and often lethal” he underlines Lidia Rota Vender, president of ALT. Information made even more valuable by the Covid epidemic, given that thromboembolic events are among the most fearsome and fatal complications of the virus. To fully understand the pitfalls of this disease, one must first know that thrombosis can occur in the arteries (causing stroke, myocardial infarction, limb ischemia, with possible devastating consequences such as amputation of the affected limb) or in superficial or deep veins, causing phlebitis or thrombophlebitis or deep vein thrombosis which unfortunately very often frees emboli that reach the lung causing pulmonary embolism. It all starts with a blood clot, a thrombus, which forms in an artery or in a vein or in the heart: this frees emboli which, traveling in the blood, reach any point of the body generating very serious events.
The role of atrial fibrillation
“If it is true that in most cases strokes, heart attacks or ischemia strike suddenly and irreversibly, it is also true that often the cause is a neglected or unidentified heart disorder, atrial fibrillation – adds Rota Vender, specialist in Hematology and Cardiovascular Diseases from Thrombosis -. Very common, but often undiagnosed, this arrhythmia of the heart is more likely after the age of 50 and more common with advancing age ». Knowing how to recognize atrial fibrillation, which according to estimates affects about two million compatriots and is not life-threatening in itself, could often avoid serious, if not fatal, complications. It is the most common form of arrhythmia and should never be overlooked alarm bells such as: shortness of breath, palpitations, feeling faint, chest pain, shortness of breath, dizziness, unjustified fatigue, fainting.
Symptoms of venous thrombosis
Symptoms of the venous thrombosis they are instead more subtle and exchangeable mostly with simple stagnation of liquids, but when a limb suddenly appears edematous and heavy, it is advisable not to waste time. “They are all spies that it is better not to neglect by immediately talking to a doctor who, if necessary, prescribes a visit with the specialist and then proceeds with any diagnostic tests – explains Sergio Siragusa, vice president of the Italian Society of Hematology and one of the leading Italian experts on thrombosis -. The mechanisms underlying thrombosis are the cause of about 25% of all deaths that occur every year in the world, responsible for over 400 thousand deaths per year in our country alone “. The most recent statistics say that every year in Italy about 60 thousand new cases of thrombosis occur a year, or 1,150 per week, 166 per day. The chances of developing a thrombotic event concern one person in a thousand in the general population, but the risk rises in the elderly (over 70, one in 100) and falls in the young (one in 10 thousand in under 40s).
The dangerous relationship with Covid
And what is the link with Covid-19
? «Pulmonary embolism is one of the most serious and feared complications, causing about 15% of all deaths caused by SARS-CoV-2 infection – replies Siragusa, who is director of Hematology at the Palermo Polyclinic -. In fact, all the protocols for the treatment of Covid provide that the sick are given heparin, which thins the blood and prevents the formation of thrombus “. All viruses, and SARS-CoV2 is no exception, trigger a more or less violent inflammatory reaction in the entire organism in the affected organ. Whenever an infection or inflammatory process develops, the blood participates in the battle for healing by increasing its tendency to clot, but very often it forms thrombi in the arteries and veins, causing very serious complications. “Also to avoid a pulmonary embolism it is very important that the people most at risk of thrombosis undergo the vaccine against Covid as soon as possible” concludes the expert.
Greater danger after an intervention
The arrival of summer requires some extra caution for those at greater risk of thrombosis. The great heat, in fact, particularly affects the veins and the loss of elasticity that occurs in the varicose veins reduces the efficiency of the thrust that sends the blood back to the heart: when the blood slows down its travel it tends to clot excessively. The greatest danger is for those who have undergone a recent surgery and for those who are forced to stay in bed for long periods, but not only. “As far as the arteries are concerned, people who smoke are more fragile, those who have already suffered from heart attacks, strokes, arterial embolism or transient cerebral ischemic attacks (thia) – says Lidia Rota Vender -. And those who suffer from diabetes or hypertension poorly treated or with atherosclerosis. As for possible blood clots in the veins, on the other hand, people who have already had a venous thrombosis in the past, who take hormonal therapies, who are overweight or who have varicose veins are at greater risk. And also women who are pregnant or in the 60 days after giving birth, caesarean or natural. Finally, the subjects with a predisposing genetic structure that must be sought in those who have at least one blood relative affected by thrombosis before the age of 65 ».
June 28, 2021 (change June 28, 2021 | 21:11)
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