By Anjali Bhave, Anusha Tembe, Nimish Kadam, Samarth Mishra
Thrombosis (blood clots), can cause a blockage of the blood flow in the blood vessel. Statistics show that more people die from blood clots than breast cancer, AIDS, and accidents and combined! One blood clot is formed every minute, and one patient dies of blood clots every 6 minutes. Thrombosis is very serious and kills many, and yet it is a preventable condition. Thrombosis does not discriminate to any age, race, gender, or country.
The causes of this deadly condition can be lack of water intake, a long period of physical inactivity, a family history of thrombosis, or recent surgery. Incidence is approximately 10 per 10,000 people annually, the incidence is slightly higher in men than women. In India, the incidence is 17.46 per 10,000. In the U.S., it is estimated that approximately 900,000 people die every year due to thrombosis.
We believe that preventing this deadly condition is everyone’s responsibility. Staying healthy, getting up and moving often in a plane or a long car drive constitute a good start. If a blood clot is found, one must go to a doctor immediately. If you wait, unfortunately, it may be too late.
Research by one of our young 8th grade volunteers, Veeraj Rangnekar, showed that awareness of thrombosis in India is very low, and the incidence very high. The authors, all of whom are of Indian origin, decided to make an effort by reaching the Indian community in Maharashtra to let the citizens know about blood clots.
Volunteers of GTF interviewed Mr. Peter (real name has been blocked for confidentiality), a 60-year old patient of Indian origin, who suffered from 2 very serious conditions, DVT (deep vein thrombosis, or a blood clot in the calf), and PE (Pulmonary Embolism, or a blood clot in lungs). Both these conditions happened to Peter during the flight while flying from Dubai to the U.S. But for a very prompt medical attention, Peter would have lost his life. Peter through a very careful management of his condition via medications, physical therapy and family support, is live and doing very well.
GTF interviewed another patient, Ms. Rose (real name has been blocked for confidentiality). This 32-old year female white patient, suffered from a blood clot in the brain immediately after her second delivery. The patient lost all her body function for a period of 6 months. Through a very intensive care, including physical therapy, Rose is doing fine.
Both Peter and Rose are now advocates of thrombosis. IT is the intention of the authors through the information from Peter and Rose to alert the Citizens of India about risks of blood clots and to be aware and manage them.
About the Authors:
Ms. Anjali Bhave is a, 8th grade student at Riverwatch Middle School, Suwanee, GA. Anjali is a sports personality and has been a member of GTF for 2 years, and wants to pursue Medicine and save lives of people.
Ms. Anusha Tembe is a 7th grader at Hightower Trail Middle School, Marietta, GA. Anusha has been with GTF for a few months, and within this short duration, has already made a significant impact on her efforts in thrombosis.
Mr. Nimish Kadam is a 7th grader from Riverwatch Middle School, Suwanee, GA. Nimish is very passionate about his role in GTF, and during his 6th grade, addressed his entire school what is thrombosis on the school PA System.
Mr. Samarth Mishra is a 9th grader at Alpharetta High School, Alpharetta, GA. Samarth has been with GTF for about 1 year, and is very passionate for the community work in GTF. Samarth has managed several booths where he has told the attendees about the risk and management of thrombosis.
Georgia Thrombosis Forum (GTF, www.gtfonline.net) is a small, local organization in Georgia, U.S., which works in raising awareness about Thrombosis. Authors are volunteers at GTF
Indian Periodical
Indian Periodical
Surely awareness level can minimize the deadly effects of blood clot!
Better to create it for en effective prevention of the conditions leading to the worst problem than rushing for a cure in the last minute!
Congrats to the students!
This is an amazing article from a small group that works on this deadly condition. More work is needed in India to manage this deadly condition. Would like to see more and more such work fromthe GTF.
Being a cardiologist, I come across different patients with various thrombotic disorders, namely, DVT, PE, Stroke, PE, MI, etc. on a daily basis. Reading the literature from India, the incidence of thrombosis in India is very high, and yet the awareness is very low. A strong awareness program against thrombosis is a must in India, and we hope that the Government of India, or some National body will start acting on this.
Let this article be a wake up call to all citizens of India. The kids (2 of them, Anjali and Anusha are 7th graders) have done a wonderful job in putting their thoughts and research work together. I am amazed at the kids doing such a commendable job. I am looking for more of such activities in the future in this great periocal, Indian Periodical. I would also thank the editors of Indian Periodical in starting such a topic.
As a member of GTF, it is a delight to see this article written by our young volunteers. I am sure that this article, and if more articles are published in Indian Periodical on this topic in the future, it will be a major source of creating awarenes of thrombosis in the commmunity, both in India and the U.S.
Tiny steps towards a greater cause!!!
Prevention is better than cure….what better way to prevent such serious health conditions than spreading awareness about them.
Thanks to the editors of Indian Periodical and the volunteers of GTF for making this possible.
Excellent, well researched article. I was completely unaware of this. I should be more careful for my long distance flights from North America back home to India.
Thanks for spreading the awareness and looking forward for more such informative articles
Kudos to the young guns for raising awareness about Thrombosis. Creating awareness and catching it in time will certainly prevent unnecessary deaths. Leading a healthy lifestyle is key to preventing most diseases, thrombosis being one of them.
Thanks to the editors of Indian Periodical and the trailblazing young volunteers for their efforts to highlight Thrombosis.
Thanks to the Indian periodical team to highlight this important information on Thrombosis!
GTF team, Thanks for an amazing article and a good way to create awareness within the community.