“One more day at home would have been my last”
Kristina Vogel | Photo: Cor Vos
April 16, 2024 | (rsn) – Kristina Vogel once again barely escaped death at the weekend. The two-time Olympic track champion made this known via Instagram on Monday. There, the 33-year-old posted a photo from the Berlin accident hospital and wrote: “Hello from the hospital… I had a pulmonary embolism!”
On Saturday, Vogel was taken to the hospital by her partner Michael Seidenbecher. Her life was saved six years ago after her serious training accident in Cottbus, which left her paralyzed. This time, too, an emergency operation was carried out immediately.
“From Friday to Saturday I didn’t feel well at all and my Apple Watch also sounded the alarm the whole time. My resting heart rate was too high. 120! Michael and I then went to the hospital on Saturday morning,” Vogel said on Instagram.
“;
}
“A few hours later I was lying on the operating table. Blood clots (thrombi) were removed with a catheter or suctioned out. I had so many thrombi in my lungs that the heart pressure had already increased and it was life-threatening. Let’s put it that way : One more day at home would probably have been my last day. Once again, the staff at the UKB probably saved my life!”
In a pulmonary embolism, blood clots reach the lungs and block pulmonary vessels. It can cause death within a few hours. Typical symptoms include acute shortness of breath and chest pain when inhaling. The lack of oxygen also usually causes a resting heart rate of over 100 beats per minute.
On Tuesday, Vogel also thanked everyone via Instagram for the many messages and explained: “Immediately after the operation, I felt much better,” she wrote. “I’m fine now, but I need to stay a few more days until we have all the results and understand why this happened – to prevent it from happening again in the future.”