David Bloom from the Today Show dead

[cati]

I really feel sorry for his family. That is really terrible.

 

[Geoff_M]

PamOKW,

I thought about that... remembering the study about trans-oceanic flights. But in those cases the flights are often 8+ hours in length. I gotta believe he got out of humvee for breaks and meals on a regular basis. Also, the clot Bloom developed was in his lungs, and I think the main concern in the airline study was clotting in the legs. But I'm no doctor, so there might be someone else that can shed some light in the issue. Whatever the cause, it's a loss for the reporting world.

 

[dmadman43]

Also, the clot Bloom developed was in his lungs, and I think the main concern in the airline study was clotting in the legs. But I'm no doctor, so there might be someone else that can shed some light in the issue. Whatever the cause, it's a loss for the reporting world.

But the clots do move through the blood system. So, as I understand it, they could originate in the legs (or anywhere). But, like you, I'm no doctor.

From: http://www.emedicine.com/EMERG/topic490.htm

Pathophysiology: Pulmonary thromboembolism is not a disease in and of itself. Rather, it is an often fatal complication of underlying venous thrombosis. Under normal conditions, microthrombi (tiny aggregates of red cells, platelets, and fibrin) are formed and lysed continually within the venous circulatory system. This dynamic equilibrium ensures local hemostasis in response to injury without permitting uncontrolled propagation of clot. Under pathological conditions, microthrombi may escape the normal fibrinolytic system to grow and propagate. PE occurs when these propagating clots break loose and embolize to block pulmonary blood vessels.

Thrombosis in the veins is triggered by venostasis, hypercoagulability, and vessel wall inflammation. These 3 underlying causes are known as the Virchow triad. All known clinical risk factors for DVT and PE have their basis in one or more of the triad.

Patients who have undergone gynecologic surgery, those with major trauma, and those with indwelling venous catheters may have DVTs that start at any location. For other patients, lower extremity venous thrombosis nearly always starts in the calf veins, which are involved in virtually 100% of all cases of symptomatic spontaneous lower extremity DVT. Although DVT starts in the calf veins, it already has propagated above the knee in 87% of symptomatic patients before the diagnosis is made.

Studies suggest that nearly every patient with thrombus in the upper leg or thigh will have a PE if a sensitive enough test is done to look for it. Current techniques allow us to demonstrate PE in 60-80% of these patients, even though about half have no clinical symptoms to suggest PE. Thrombus in the popliteal segment of the femoral vein (the segment behind the knee) is the cause of PE in more than 60% of cases.

PE can arise from DVT anywhere in the body. Fatal PE often results from thrombus that originates in the axillary or subclavian veins (deep veins of the arm or shoulder) or in veins of the pelvis. Thrombus that forms around indwelling central venous catheters is a common cause of fatal PE.

The belief that calf vein DVT is only a minor threat is outdated and inaccurate. DVT of the calf is a significant source of PE and often causes serious morbidity or death. In fact, one third of the cases of massive PE have their only identified source in the veins of the calf. One important autopsy study showed that more than 35% of patients who died from PE had isolated calf vein thrombosis. Other studies have shown that the overall frequency of PE from DVT isolated to the small deep veins of the calf is 33-46%. Most of the time, emboli from calf veins are of smaller caliber than those from more proximal venous segments, but not all emboli from calf veins are small. Even a very narrow vein can produce a long, sinuous clot that can cause hemodynamic collapse, and approximately 40% of PEs from calf veins produce perfusion scan defects that are large or massive.

Calf emboli that are very small carry their own special risks. In a 1993 study of patients with identifiable thrombi causing paradoxical embolization through a patent foramen ovale, the source was isolated to the calf veins in 15 of 24 cases.

 

[PamOKW]

From what I've seen from the doctors discussing the case, the clots form in the deep veins of the leg and then break loose. They can get lodged in small vessels in the lungs and start forming a balooning blockage that can kill.

When they were under attack, I've got to imagine they were in the Humvee/tank for long hours. They also were sleeping in there. So, that would be comparable to being on a plane.

But, like I said before, who really knows?

 

[dmadman43]

Apparently he had symptoms and chose not to immediately follow medical advice. You gotta admire a man's dedication to his job, but...

http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/apr2003/nf2003047_8783_db071.htm

Tragically, it may have been the long hours he spent cramped in the Army vehicle that caused his death. Three days ago, Bloom had complained of cramps behind his knee. Like most of us journalists "embedded" in the Army, he had endured days and nights of working, eating, and sleeping in our vehicles as convoys snaked their way toward Baghdad.

He consulted military doctors and described his symptoms over the phone to overseas physicians. They suspected DVT, or deep veinous thrombosis, and advised him to seek proper medical attention. He ignored their advice, swallowed some aspirins, and kept on working. On Sunday he died of a pulmonary embolism.

 

[Luckymommyx2]

My family loved to watch David Bloom. He was doing a fantastic job in the Bloom-mobile. My husband and I were just commenting the day before he died whether he had a tan or if he was just dirty. My heart goes out to his daughters. Prayers to the entire family. He will be missed...so much potential.