Vascular PRN President Says TV Host's DVT Experience a Valuable Lesson

Tampa, FL -- (SBWire) -- 05/02/2014 --Recently, a U.S. television personality had a frightening lesson in the dangers of deep vein thrombosis (DVT).

Meredith Vieira, an NBC News correspondent and former co-host of “The View,” reported on Twitter that her husband, journalist Richard Cohen, had spent a weekend in the hospital after a blood clot that had formed in his leg became lodged in his lung. Cohen called the situation “touch and go.” He said that the probable cause of the blood clot was too much time spent sitting at his computer.

Greg Grambor is president of Vascular PRN, a distributor of pneumatic compression devices for the prevention of DVT. He said he hopes the story will serve to raise people's awareness of DVT and the hazards it presents even to healthy people.

“Everyone needs to be aware of DVT, its symptoms and its risks,” said Grambor. “Those most at risk are surgery patients and the elderly who spend significant amounts of time immobile in hospitals and nursing home beds. But a long airplane trip is enough to cause blood clots in the legs, and in Cohen's case, it may have been caused simply by spending a long time sitting at a computer.”

Deep vein thrombosis is the formation of a blood clot in a deep vein, usually in the legs. When the clot dislodges and travels through the bloodstream, it can cause life-threatening complications — such as pulmonary embolism, stroke or heart attack — if it becomes lodged elsewhere in the body. Fortunately, Cohen escaped the most dire consequences.

Cohen said he went to the hospital when his foot became badly swollen. Tests revealed a large blood clot in his leg, a piece of which had broken off and reached a blood vessel in his lungs, close to his heart. Even under doctors' supervision, the danger was not immediately over, but he was soon given a clean bill of health and the all-clear to return home.

“He did the right thing by going to the hospital when he noticed the swelling in his leg,” Grambor added. “That's one of the classic warning signs of DVT. Others include pain in the legs, warm skin on the affected leg, redness, visible veins and leg fatigue.”

Learn more at http://www.vascularprn.com/

Media Relations Contact

Greg Grambor
Vascular PRN
800-886-4331
http://www.vascularprn.com/

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