Xbox addict ‘dies from blood clot’
This recent headline tells of tragedy. A healthy 20 year old college student died from a blood clot after sitting and playing Xbox games for many hours.
Why did this happen? The postmortem exam found this young man died from a pulmonary embolus. How sad. This young man’s family wants other parents to know the dangers of sitting too long gaming on a computer. http://news.yahoo.com/xbox-addict-dies-blood-clot-111934041.html
Let me explain our circulation system: the left side of the heart pumps oxygenated blood up to the brain and out to the body. The blood travels through the arteries to all tissues of the body in arteries that branch and become smaller. After the blood releases nutrients and oxygen to all tissues (capillary level) the blood enters the smallest veins which carries blood to increasingly larger veins. Larger veins join together and become the vena cava (the largest vein of the body). The vena cava returns blood to the right side of the heart and then to the lungs. Lungs remove carbon dioxide and other gases from the blood and add oxygen.
When a person sits for long periods of time, there is little muscle movement to propel the venous blood back to the heart and lungs. Our bodies need muscle movement. Without it, the blood can become stagnant and clot, causing a deep vein thrombosis (DVT). If a clot forms and breaks loose, it travels up to the heart and lungs. If a blood clot gets caught in the vessels of the heart, it causes a heart attack (myocardial infarction.) If a blood clot gets stuck in vessels of the lungs, it’s called a pulmonary embolus(PE).
More information about how we can protect ourselves from blood clots tomorrow.
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